General
by Philosophy Blue
Summary: AU Kagome is Sesshomaru's general in the war against his half-brother Inuyasha. Their feelings for each other run deep, but when war, the very thing that brought them together, threatens their relationship, can their love survive the trials of pain, betrayal, and secrets? SessKag
1. General Kagome of the West

Kagome grinned fiercely and lashed out with her twin katana. Hot blood sprayed her face, and when she wiped it out of her eyes, she was just in time to see the disintegrating form of a snake youkai. All that was left was a red sash and the tip of its tail.

She kicked at the sash contemptuously and, in the same motion, swung her other leg around behind her, knocking back a human who had been trying to sneak up on her. She was on him like a wildcat, slashing and jabbing. He fell to the ground, bloody froth bubbling at his lips. She let him live; he would not be able to fight again any time soon.

Kagome swiped her finger along the Taka, littering the ground before her with red; not that it wasn't stained scarlet already. She frowned. The stench of the blood and bodies was disgusting. She readjusted her yellow and blue sashes self-consciously, taking care to expose the purple flower that adorned the blue strip of fabric. . Did she look a mess? Was her hair clotted together in clumps with blood? What would he think?

She shook her head. _Gah!_ _It doesn't matter what he thinks!_ The miko barely had a moment of peace to think about this when she sensed an attack coming from behind. She threw herself to the side, narrowly avoiding a set of claws that would have ripped into her back. She whirled around, Taka and Tsuru, her katana, at the ready. It was a panther youkai.

Kagome narrowed her eyes. "Taking down an enemy from behind. How noble."

The youkai laughed, baring sharp fangs. "All's fair in love and war!" Her scarlet hair looked like it had been drenched in blood. She pounced, her tail flicking. Kagome leapt backwards. With a gasp, she threw her head back. She felt the searing heat of the fireball as it whizzed past. Recovering quickly, she sent a current of reiki into her katana.

_I'll have to be careful with this one. She's a tai neko, a great cat. _

Kagome knew that if she managed to get a hit on the neko with any one of her reiki-infused blades, it would be _no more cat._ Which was fine with her. The panther seemed to realize that, and put her cat agility to use, dodging the blades with alarming ease.

"That all you got, human?" taunted the panther. "I heard great things about you, but I guess they were tall tales! I will write the final chapter of your life, General, with my name, Karan!"

"Cat, don't underestimate me," growled Kagome. She pointed Tsuru at the infuriating nekoyoukai. "Today, you meet your end!"

She lunged forward, and with a speed that most humans did not possess, swept the blade of the crane across the cat's middle. With a shocked yowl, Karan tried to hurl herself backwards, but the aura of reiki around the blade made contact with her chest. She let out an unholy shriek as she felt the holy energy burn and blister her skin. But being the stronger youkai that she was, and the blade not having any actual contact with her body, Karan survived, but barely. She clutched at the huge gash in her stomach. Her flesh was slowly unraveling from the reiki, her own youkai body trying desperately to mend itself.

Eyes flashing vivid scarlet, Karan yowled, "This is not over, human!" She then turned tail and flung herself into the fray.

As the long, twining tail vanished in the mass of bloody bodies, Kagome smirked. "All talk and no action," she mused. The cat hadn't managed to land a single blow on her.

Kagome scanned the battlefield, looking for something that shouldn't be very hard to spot. Yes, there it was.

There was a huge circle of clear grass smack dab in the middle of the fighting, occupied only by two figures.

Both had the same long, silvery hair, but one was taller, more slender, and more graceful than the other. One had a blue and yellow sash, the other had red. They had very different methods of fighting.

Sesshomaru, the fair one, was eloquent and flowing, and Inuyasha was rough and brute force. Kagome smirked. Her lord was obviously the greater youkai.

_I mean, he's an actual youkai, not to mention a taiyoukai, unlike **him**_**. _He's_ **_just a half-demon. _

She watched as her lord hurled Inuyasha backwards, cheering silently. _Yes! This battle will be a victory for the West! _Her eyes widened as Sesshomaru stepped forward and held his blade to Inuyasha's throat. _Can this be it? Could this be the end to this war? _

Before she could find out, Kagome realized that there was a projectile hurtling towards her to her right. She turned. It was a large, tan blur.

The miko ducked neatly as the thing spun past, over her head. But there was something wrong. No decent soldier would throw away a big weapon like that. It had to be retrievable.

_Shit!_

Kagome spun around. Sure enough, the thing that she knew now to be a boomerang was just making its turn and making its way back to her. She crouched down again, following it with her eyes. It soared into the hands of a black-garbed warrior.

Was that a ponytail? What was that aura she sensed?

A _girl?_ And the uniform…a taijiya? A _girl _one?

Kagome squinted through the dust. "Who are you?"

"Sango, of the Taijiya clan!"

Kagome eyed the red sash that adorned Sango's waist. "Well, you chose the wrong side to fight on, Sango of the Taijiya clan!" She gestured to her own, yellow and blue sashes.

The taijiya scowled. "I know where my loyalties lie. And it's on the winning side. I believe that Inuyasha can win!"

"Wrong," Kagome said matter-of-factly. "It's only a matter of time before Sesshomaru cuts him down!"

Sango's eyes flashed. "You, General Higurashi of the West. If your lord can defeat mine, than you must be able to defeat me. Using that logic, if I beat you, then Inuyasha will defeat Sesshomaru!"

Kagome considered it for a moment. "Is this a challenge? Or a bet?"

"Both!" Sango brandished her oversized boomerang. "So how about it, Higurashi?"

"Let's go!"

Kagome raised Taka and Tsuru. The Hawk and the Crane. She grinned. "Bring it on, Sango of the Taijiya clan!"

Matching Kagome's smirk with one of her own, Sango lunged forward. She unleashed her giant weapon.

"_Hiraikotsu!_"

"_Shinseina hakai!" *sacred destruction*_

As the boomerang raced along the dirt, aimed firmly for Kagome, she released a wave of reiki. It churned the earth as it passed by, and dirt clods flew in the air. A blinding pink light filled the air, and the soldiers fighting nearby had to shield their eyes. Sango shielded her face with her arm, protecting it from the debris flying around. Distracted as she was, she could not receive the returning Hiraikotsu properly, and it slammed into her chest, knocking her backwards several meters.

When at last the light died away, Kagome was standing triumphant yet a little windblown, at the end of a long trough of destruction. Sango looked at her, grudging awe in her eyes.

"Not bad, Higurashi," she admitted. "Now quit with the fancy tricks and fight like real humans! Blade to blade!"

Kagome sneered. "Why, Sango of the Taijiya clan? Are you scared?"

Sango glared at the General of the West. "No. But I was not born blessed by the kami, and I have no reiki to use. So let's make this a fair fight."

Kagome shrugged. "Fine. But I'll still _obliterate _you."

Sango scowled. "We'll see, Higurashi." She dashed forward, abandoning her Hiraikotsu. In close fighting, the bulky boomerang was no good. She would have to make good with her sword.

Kagome watched her come, twin katana resting comfortably in her hands. Although this warrior woman was well versed in combat, her main weapon was the boomerang, and she had signed her own death warrant when she turned their duel to a close-bladed fight.

Sango attacked her with a barrage of complicated sequences. Overheads, feints, jabs, cross-bodies, she used them all.

And not a single one got past Kagome's defenses.

Kagome had been trained since childhood by expert, youkai swordmasters. They were much faster than this girl, and to Kagome, Sango seemed almost slow, although she could have guaranteed that Sango could have defeated almost any other human.

Kagome let Sango step in close, then with a deft bit of play with Taka and Tsuru, sent her taijiya sword burying itself tip-first in the turned-up soil. Now Sango was unarmed. Or so Kagome thought.

"Surrender?" she offered with a smirk. Her smug look morphed quickly into one of surprise and annoyance as Sango released her hidden blade, the one concealed in her arm. The knife sliced into Kagome's arm, and blood immediately came forth, spreading scarlet blossoms on the navy blue uniform sleeve.

"What do you think, Higurashi?" fired off Sango. She took the opportunity to back away to what she judged to be a safe distance.

The General gave a scornful laugh. "That? That was your secret weapon? Your grand finale? Well, sorry, Sango of the Taijiya clan—"—she spun her katana and buried them into the soil—"They're just not gonna make the cut."

One moment she was at complete ease, the next she was lunging forward with the speed of the wildcat. Now Kagome was on the offensive. She forced Sango back, step by step. The taijiya had recovered her sword and tucked it into her sash. She had armed herself with the Hiraikotsu, which she was more comfortable with. She was a more difficult opponent, but Kagome's training was far superior.

"Sango!"

A man's cry echoed through the air, and Kagome saw Sango's eyes widen, and…blush? She turned in time to intercept a blow from a handsome, dark man who wielded a golden staff. He didn't wear a sash, just a monk's robes. He was a neutral.

"What, Sango of the Taijiya clan? Is this your lover?" she taunted. "Do you let men fight your battles for you?"

The warrior flushed. "No! Miroku, stay out of this!"

The dark man shook his head emphatically. "No! Sango, I will protect you! Step back!"

Sango hesitated, meeting Kagome's scornful gaze. Then she nodded and stepped back. Miroku stepped forward, putting her behind him. He glared at Kagome.

"If you value your life, run!"

Kagome laughed derisively. "As if you could ever send me running. Do your worst!"

His eyes darkened. "Very well." In a dramatic gesture, he swept the beads wrapped around his wrist off and stretched the hand out to Kagome, who stood there frozen, unaware of the terrible danger it posed.

* * *

**Soooo...What did you guys think? :)**


	2. Tactics and Disapproval

For a split second, Kagome was confused. _What the hell is this?_ Then, _What the frickin' hell is this?! _There was some sort of freakish black hole opening up in the monk's palm. She shouted, "Monk! What trickery is this?" She dug her feet into the ground, trying to avoid being sucked up into his black hole.

"Not trickery! A curse!" he replied grimly.

Kagome's feet slipped, and for a few horrifying moments, she was carried along in the current of air towards the vacuum. A cry escaped her lips, much to her embarrassment. Then, in a moment of desperation, she stuck out her katana and sank them into the soil. She stopped being sucked into the hole, but the katana were losing their grip; it wasn't a very firm one. She grimaced, and in one ragged motion, ripped her katana out of the ground and then slashed them through the air towards Miroku.

"_Shinseina sekai!" *sacred incisions*_

Pink gashes of light exploded from both blades, and were absorbed into the tunnel of wind. But as they disappeared into his hand, they slashed open the edges of the hole. With a grunt of pain, Miroku threw the beads back over his hand, and the wind tunnel died.

Kagome sank to her knees, her mind a fog of confusion. She had nearly died, or stopped existing, or whatever happened to people when they were sucked into his tunnel. She had barely lived. When she looked up, she saw that the monk was in a similar state. He was staring at his hand in horror, and so was Sango.

"The gap is in danger of growing bigger," said Miroku, and there was fear in his eyes, true fear. "Sango—"

The taijiya grabbed his hand and held it to her chest. "I'm so sorry! It's all my fault! You were protecting me!"

Miroku scowled. "No. It's not your fault, Sango." His expression became dreamy. "But there is a way you could repay me…" His free hand sank out of sight. Sango's eyes shot wide open, and she scooted back.

_Slap!_

"You lecher!" she hissed, a bright flush on her cheeks.

Miroku sighed sadly. "Oh, my beautiful Sango, why must you reject me?"

Kagome watched this with a half-amused twirk of her eyebrow. This powerful man who was a serious danger to the west had the mind of an old, perverted gramps in the body of a young man, hmm? Apparently, his hand was magnetically attracted to ladies' bottoms, and he couldn't help it, as he was explaining to a fiercely blushing Sango. Suddenly Kagome sprang to her feet. What was she doing? She couldn't get comfortable with anyone. Couldn't get too well acquainted. Couldn't get too attached. Couldn't make friends. That would be opening up her heart to more pain.

She picked up Taka and Tsuru and pointed one at each opponent. "This isn't bonding time," she said coldly. "Are you going to fight or not?"

The couple looked at her, then each other. They leapt up at the same time, brandishing their weapons. "Very well, Lady Higurashi. Let us finish this!"

"Mm."

Recovering remarkably quickly, at least for humans, the pair sprang toward her. Kagome took a defensive stance, more than ready. She blocked the boomerang with a cross of her katana, and lashed out with her foot, slamming it into the hand that held the monk's staff.

She opened her mouth, ready to make another reiki attack, but she was interrupted by the long, mournful call of a bugle. Her head snapped to the side, and her eyes flared with anger.

_Retreat? Now! It was just getting heated!_

Reluctantly, she stepped back, sheathing her katana. She glowered at the couple. "Run back to that filthy mongrel you call your lord," she snapped. "And you new recruits need to learn your side. Right now, you're on the wrong one."

Miroku drew Sango in close. "I could say the same to you, General."

Casting them a scornful gaze, Kagome turned her back and sprinted away through the throng. All the bodies were human; demon bodies would have disintegrated. Why couldn't every soldier be demon? The stink was making bile rise in her throat. Holding in a gag, she waded through the blood, headed for her lord.

Sesshomaru was standing stoically at the top of a little rise. Not a single silver hair was out of place, and his clothes were pristine. He was staring at her. His gaze raked up and down her body, and the line of his mouth hardened ever so slightly.

Kagome felt like a total slob. Blushing like Sango of the Taijiya clan, she fumbled at her sashes. Suddenly, she became all too aware of all the blood on her uniform. She picked at a bit of dried blood on her sleeve.

"General."

She looked up, heart beating very quickly. "Yes, my lord?"

"You cried out during the fighting. Why was that so?" He didn't look at her. He was watching Inuyasha's army regroup, helping their wounded.

Kagome looked down at her feet, ashamed. He had heard. "Lord Sesshomaru, there are a couple of new recruits on Inuyasha's army that are alarmingly skilled."

"Hn?"

Taking that as an order to continue, Kagome said, "A man and a woman. The man is a monk, named Miroku. He supposedly has a curse that damns him with a hole in his hand. The beads on his wrist seem to act as a seal. When he took them off, his tunnel of wind activated. It sucked up everything in its path. He—" She paused. "Well, he isn't really Inuyasha's. He doesn't wear a red sash. He just wears dark blue monk robes. I sensed a mediocre-to-fairly strong holy aura about him. He seems very protective of his woman companion. I was fighting her and winning when he jumped in."

Sesshomaru stared up at the sky. The crows were wheeling down, preparing to feast. "And what of the woman?"

"She is definitely Inuyasha's; she wears a red sash. She is a taijiya. Sango of the Taijiya clan."

He was silent for a full minute. Kagome could hear the dull roar of the armies trying to locate the survivors in the field of the dead, calling the medics, and grieving for the fallen. She dared not move an inch, so as not to disrupt the atmosphere between her and Sesshomaru.

Finally he spoke. "How many losses, Higurashi?"

Kagome started; she had not expected this question. "Significantly less than Inuyasha's, my lord," she said quickly, buying time while she quickly calculated the number of abandoned yellow and blue sashes. "Less than a hundred."

"And his?"

"Inuyasha has lost well over three hundred, Lord Sesshomaru."

There it was, that awkward silence again. But it lasted only for a couple seconds. "General," he said slowly. "Your job is to train my soldiers. How is it that so many of ours perished?"

Kagome flinched. She had said 'less than 100' because it had sounded better than 'more than 50.' "My lord—"

"Judging by the overall incompetency of Inuyasha's ragtag soldiers, I expected just over a dozen, Higurashi." His voice was icy, sharply edged with frost. "Just think. By tomorrow, news of our deaths will be winging across the land. How many will grieve for their lost ones? You are expected to keep our losses at a bare minimum, General."

Kagome suddenly found something interesting on her boots. "I'm sorry, my lord," she told her toes.

Sesshomaru didn't reply, simply turned and walked, down the rise, the mass of bodies parting before him. His white clothes billowed in a breeze that wasn't there, and his eyes glinted gold in the light of the setting sun, perfectly set off by his long, mercury locks.

Kagome, face burning, followed, an ordinary human in a blood-splattered uniform, completely unextraordinary.

* * *

**Have you noticed, in a lot of textbooks and ads, it says 'more than' or 'less than' depending on which side they're taking? Like, in a social studies book, it was published in the US by some US people, so it says inside that "More than 55,000 people immigrate to the US every year." I mean, swallow your ego and say "Less than 100,00"!  
**


	3. You Really Think So?

Inuyasha groaned. "Whaddya mean, you didn't get her? You said you could!"

"We almost had her," grumbled Sango. "But I guess she isn't the General of the Army of the West for nothing. She was pretty good. You know, breaking out with all the miko stuff. Blasted me real good." She rubbed at her arm reproachfully.

"We need a way to keep her out of the battles. She's one destructive lady! Plowed through a good portion of my troops. Hard to believe she's only human, not a demoness." Inuyasha ruffled up his perpetually messy silver bangs.

"She _is_ a miko," offered Sango. Miroku dipped his head in acknowledgement of her statement. He had decided to join the East unofficially. He would not wear a red sash, but would be acknowledged as an ally.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Aww, who cares? All I want is for her to be locked away somewhere she can't interfere with the war! I would take her out myself, but the Abominable Ice-butt is always there. Today's the first time he called retreat, and you know why? It's 'cause of her! He heard her yell, and then it was weird, 'cause his eyes flashed red for a moment. Then he blasted me back and called retreat. Maybe it's because he knows how fragile she really is. Doesn't want his precious miko getting hurt. She's too damn useful."

Miroku was quiet for a moment, and then he spoke. "I think I have a solution to this problem." He hated to resort to this kind of thing, but what choice did he have? Lady Kagome was frighteningly strong, and she probably had a grudge against Sango now. He couldn't allow his love to get hurt.

"Let's hear it," drawled Inuyasha.

-oOo-

Kagome shook a dripping wet cloth over Taka, moistening the blood dried on the steel alloy. She grabbed a dry cloth and began methodically cleaning the blade. She glanced up at Tamashi, who was doing the same thing with her spear, Shirukusasu.

Her only friend paused in her cleaning and regarded Kagome with cool hazel eyes. She raised a single fine eyebrow, asking a silent question.

The general fidgeted. "Do you think Sesshomaru is mad at me?" The question came out in a rush.

Tamashi no Uta plucked daintily at a stubborn fleck of red. "Perhaps. To me, it seems more like he was very worried for you, and is angry at himself for showing it."

"What?" Kagome's hand tightened on the bloody rag, and she could feel her heart thumping, faster than normal. "What do you mean, worried?"

The inuyoukai shrugged. "He heard you cry out—"

Kagome flushed. "Would everyone stop reminding me of that? It was in a moment of weakness!" She frowned. "Oh, sorry. Go on."

Tamashi cocked her head to the side, but continued. "He heard you cry out and he was worried for you. That is why he sounded the retreat, so that he could come to you as soon as possible. But then he saw that you were alright, so now he is angry for having reacted as he did." She laughed, the sound reminding Kagome, as always, of a song that lurked in the edges of her memory. "Lord Sesshomaru is not as unfeeling and cold as he would like to think himself. He truly cares for you, Kagome."

Kagome stared at her katana. Her cheeks were getting warm, and she was sure she was blushing. "You…you really think so? You're not saying this just to… have something to say?"

Tamashi smiled. "No. You know I can always read people. And Sesshomaru…he wasn't angry at you. That I am sure of."

"But…but he got really angry at me for all the casualties. It was less than a hundred…But it should have been around a dozen! I'm a failure! Tamashi, what if I get dismissed from the service of the West for this?" Kagome was panicking.

Tamashi rolled her eyes. Kagome got like this sometimes; she could be incredibly insecure. "Trust me," she said. "I've been alive for a lot longer than you, miko or not. I was there during the war with the panthers. And the casualties from those battles were around two hundred, Kagome. You're great with the soldiers. They like you, and the training drills you made are awesome. Less than a hundred is _phenomenal_."

Kagome brightened. She scrubbed away furiously at Taka and finished cleaning up the blood. She picked up another rag, dipped it in a pan of specially treated oil. She rubbed it down Taka's length. Finished with the katana, she set it aside and picked up Tsuru and started the process all over again, snatching up the wet cloth. She didn't say anything. She didn't need to.

The friends worked together in comfortable silence for the rest of the hour.

-oOo-

_The girl with the green and white yukata leaned her head against the tree trunk. "Four… three… two… one… Ready or not, here I come!"_

_Giggling, she stepped back and turned around. There was no one in the clearing. Eyes sparkling, she set off into the woods, choosing a random direction. She traveled heedlessly, ignoring the twigs and branches that snatched at her bare feet and legs. _

_"__Hey!" she called. "You didn't go outside the limits, did you?"_

_Silence._

_"__I __**know**_ _you went outside the hiding zone!" she called again. This time, there was an answer. _

_"__I did not!"_

_Laughing, the girl pinpointed the direction the voice had come. She dashed off through the trees, looking up. There. She saw it. A blur of pale blue among the green and gold. _

_"__I see you!" she yelled gleefully. "Up there in the tree!"_

_A face poked out. "Hey, you cheated! You're not allowed to do that!"_

_The girl smirked. "You made a sound, and I tracked you down. How's that against the rules?"_

_He gaped at her, then his head withdrew. "Well, now we're playing Hide and Seek Tag! See if you can catch me!"_

_"__Not fair!" complained the girl, but sized up the tree. Licking her lips, she set her foot on a handy bump in the bark. Grabbing a small bough, she pulled herself up into the bigger branches. She couldn't see him anywhere. She looked around, scanning the leaves for just a hint of pale blue. No, that was the sky. Where had he gone?_

_"__Up here," yelled the boy. He was far above her, and she could barely make out his face. "Can you get me? Or are you too fat to get on these skinny branches?"_

_"__I'm lighter than you, so there!"_

_Only laughter and the rustling of leaves reached her ears. He was climbing higher. She scowled, then made up her mind. Nimble as a squirrel, she scampered up the branches, getting closer and closer to her target. _

_"__You better watch out!" she shouted. "I'm gonna get you!"_

_He snorted. She heard him, and smiled. If he was close enough for her to hear him, that he was close enough for her to get him. _

_With a triumphant, she scrambled up the rapidly thinning branches and slapped the boy's leg. He yelped and almost fell off. _

_"__Watch it!"_

_Cackling with glee, she slithered backwards, never minding the bark that caught on her yukata. _

_"__Now you have to catch me!" _

_She scrambled through the branches, shoving the leaves out of her eyes. She was on the branch closest to the ground when a heavy weight slammed into her. With a shriek, she lost her balance and tumbled to the ground, her attacker attached firmly to her back. She struck the dirt with a thud, the impact knocking the breath out of her._

_Face-down on the roots of the tree, she finally summoned up the strength, resolve, and breath to shout, "Get off me, you great lump!"_

_With a laugh, he rolled off her. "Priceless!" While she was breathless from the fall, he was breathless with laughter. "You __**screamed**__ really loud!"_

_"__I did not scream!" Indignant, she got up and brushed off her clothes with as much dignity as she could muster. _

_"__Did too! Scared all the birds out of the trees, too!"_

_"__Did not!"_

_"__Did too!"_

_"__Did __**not!**_ _And you're just a big meanie!" she huffed. She set off toward the village. "Why'd you have to push me off the tree? That hurt, you know!" She feigned anger and hurt, clutching her side._

_He caught up with her. "Hey, I'm sorry," he offered. "Are you okay?"_

_She waited until he was right behind her, then spun around and tackled him to the ground. "You're so gullible!" she laughed. "You didn't believe all that crap, did you? I've taken much worse falls than that!"_

_He was silent with surprise. Then he laughed too. "I __**am**__ stupid, aren't I?" he said reproachfully. He pushed off the ground and switched their positions, so that he was on top of her. The two children looked into each other's eyes. _

_She smiled. "I like you."_

_He smiled back. "I like you too."_

-oOo-

The figure stood in the throne room, cloaked with the darkest of shadows. Inuyasha crouched in his chair, ears twitching.

"What do you mean, you can't?"

The figure's fists clenched. "I cannot do as you ask of me."

Inuyasha growled, ears flattening. "Your duty is to me. To the East. And you will obey me."

"No."

"_No?_" exploded the half-demon. "What the hell do you mean, no? You're the only one who can do this!"

"No," repeated the figure. "I have one of the best connections in the West out of your entire spy network. Would it really be wise to throw away all that just for this whim of yours? By the next sunset, you may be regretting this conversation. Also, the General trusts me, as she only does for less people than you can count on one hand. Are you truly willing to risk all this?"

"The only reason she trusts you in the first place is because I told you to get that trust!" yelled Inuyasha. "You know how destructive she is. She's vicious! We need her out of the way in order to win this stinking war. And if you don't want to do this, you can pack your bags and leave."

The figure's head dipped down to face the ground. "Inu—_Lord_ Inuyasha, I am advising you, this—"

"You're not my damn adviser," growled Inuyasha. "Where do your loyalties lie? Is it really for the East, or does it dwell in the West, with the setting sun? You know the way is with the rising sun, with the dawning possibilities."

"Your war propaganda does not affect me, my lord," said the figure coolly. "Seeing as how I created a portion of it."

Inuyasha snorted. "Whatever. I never liked that trash anyways. Too many words with too many syllables." He scowled. "Well, what's it gonna be? Are you going to do it or not?"

The figure's lips pressed together. "Fine." The words were spat out. The shadow turned on its heel and strode out of the throne room, cloak billowing out behind the dark figure.

The half-demon stared at the shutting doors and sighed. "Damn, I hate this," he muttered. "If only Sesshomaru wouldn't be such a dickhead about this stupid sword." His fingers drummed lightly on the faded scabbard propped by his side.

"What part of 'Father gave it to_ me_' does he not understand?"

* * *

**Okay, you might be thinking, _what the hell?_ But these characters are from the anime, and they aren't OC's. Plus they're really prominent characters. So...stick around and eventually you'll find out who these kids are! A couple of you guys might already have guessed... Review me your thoughts!**

**Cheers!**

**Philosophy Blue**


	4. Hip-stabbed

CH 4

Kahiko stared at the mirror pensively. The face of an osprey youkai gazed back at her with bright yellow eyes. She cocked her head, and the bird demoness copied her movements. She studied herself for a moment longer, then turned her gaze to the knife lying in front of the mirror.

Its sheath was of creamy white leather, and beautiful curlicue designs were etched on it with the blackest ink. She slid the blade halfway out of its scabbard, and bright steel winked up at her. She closed her eyes and dropped her head onto the desk. She didn't want to do this. Believe it or not, she had actually developed affections for her mistress. But it was time for the General to go.

Taking a deep breath, the osprey swept out of her small chamber, her cloak billowing out behind her.

-oOo-

Kagome shut her eyes blissfully as she slid into the hot tub, enjoying the feeling of the silky water on her battered body. She breathed in deeply and the wonderful scent of sandalwood greeted her senses.

"Ahhh, that's the stuff," she said happily. Tilting her head back, the General swirled her hair around in the hot water. "I can almost feel the pain fading away. This is amazing." Smiling, she relaxed, arms spread out on either side, clutching the rim of the hot tub. "I think I'll rest a while before I start washing up."

The fragrance filling the steamy air and the soothing touch of the warm water against her skin soon put her into a drowsy state. Kagome barely registered the door sliding open, lost in a daze of warm, heavenly sensations.

"Kahiko, is that you?" she murmured sleepily. Her handmaiden was amazing. She could massage all the aches out of your body. Kagome regarded her with a tentative air of trust, not as much as she put in Tamashi or Sesshomaru, but much more than almost everyone else.

"Yes, my lady."

Kagome could hear the soft rustling of feathers as Kahiko moved closer. She smiled. "Come, do your magic. My muscles are so sore."

The slightest hesitation. Then, "Of course, my lady."

General Higurashi yawned. "What's keeping you?"

"Nothing, my lady." Yet still she hesitated.

Kagome frowned. Her handmaiden almost never dithered so. "Is something wrong?"

"No, of course not, my lady."

Kagome shrugged it off, preparing for a relaxing massage session. She heard the sweep of robes on damp stone. And a soft _shfffffft. _

It was so quiet, she would not have heard it were it not that she was listening especially hard for the sound of Kahiko's approach, eager for the aching of her body to fade. A true warrior, Kagome instantly recognized the sound of a blade being drawn. Her eyes flew open, and she scrambled out of the hot water, quite awake.

Kahiko was frozen in her tracks, a knife held out before her.

Kagome barely registered the feeling of hurt and betrayal before she attacked the servant. Using the slickness of the floor to her advantage, she slid toward Kahiko, foot outstretched. Just before they collided, she brought up her other foot and slammed it into the demoness's midsection. With a screech, the bird youkai brought down the blade in a sweeping downstroke against Kagome's hip.

The pain ripped through her, much more than a normal blade would bring. The knife, it was laced, with poison. Was it fatal? With an animalistic snarl, Kagome brought up her hand, shaped like a blade, and caught Kahiko on the temple. If she had put enough force behind it, Kahiko would die. But as weakened as she was, the most she could do was knock her unconscious. She watched weakly as the bird youkai dropped to the ground in a clump of white and black feathers. The knife clattered to the floor, the silver steel shining with webs of scarlet. Her blood.

Kagome's head was fogging up. Her thoughts were getting harder to organize. She was vaguely aware of falling to her knees, then to her hands. "Sesshomaru," she choked out. Black was crowding around the edges of her vision. "Sesshomaru!"

She heard, as if from a great distance, doors banging open. She tried to keep her eyes open, but the fog… it would be so much nicer just to give in to the blackness, escape from the excruciating burning spreading from her hip…

"Kagome!"

The cry echoed in the General's head, clanging around as it would inside a metal space. Her hearing was going. Kagome forced her lips open, held back the screams. "T-Tamashi?"

"I'm here, I'm here!" There was a blur of silver, and then there were twin spots of hazel glaring through the black that was consuming her vision. "Don't you dare die on me! Don't you dare fall asleep! You have to keep awake! We need you! _I _need you!"

"I…want to…sleep," slurred Kagome. "Stop…that…" Someone was shaking her head, and she didn't like it.

"Fight the void!" hissed the voice, which was starting to get annoying. Why wouldn't it let her just sleep? Why wouldn't it leave her to sleep, to sink back into the silky folds of oblivion? "Focus, Kagome!"

No, she couldn't do it. Her head dropped down limply onto her chest, and she registered something soft being wrapped around her and being lifted into the air, which increased the pain, and being carried away from that good-smelling place.

Kagome lost herself.

-oOo-

Tamashi stared down at her friend in horror. The skin around her hip was starting to stain a vicious shade of green. Tamashi knew her own strengths. Poison wasn't one of them. But she knew someone who specialized in it.

The inuyoukai laid out Kagome on her bed and whirled on her heel, exiting the bathing chambers in a whirl of silver locks. There was only one person who could save her.

-oOo-

Sesshomaru scowled at the scroll spread out before him. That fool was being difficult on purpose. Or was he? With ookami, you never could tell.

_Lord Sesshomaru,_

_I'm willing to ally my lands with yours, on one condition. When the war is over, and when we win (which we will, since I'll be on your side), you'll split your lands in half, and give us a section. What do you think?_

_Kouga_

Rubbish. That's what Sesshomaru thought of it. Half of the Western lands, given over to the North? What was the idiot playing at? And he did not speak like a true lord. He spoke like a peasant. Eyes narrowed, Sesshomaru picked up his brush and prepared to write back a scathing answer.

"Lord Sesshomaru!"

He looked up. There was real urgency, real panic in the call. What was it?

It was his cousin, Tamashi no Uta. Her braided ponytail was ragged, and her hazel eyes were wide with fear and desperation. She bowed quickly. "Lord Sesshomaru, you must come quickly! The General has been poisoned!"

Sesshomaru's narrowed eyes bolted wide open, and he felt the stirrings of his beast fighting to break free. "Poisoned?" he growled, his voice wavering between his normal tones and the wild, guttural snarl of his beast. He was on his feet in an instant, the letter to the North forgotten in a splatter of spilt ink. "Fatal?"

Tamashi nodded frantically. "Her handmaiden marked her with a poisoned knife! Let us hurry, my lord!"

The two inuyoukai hurried through the halls. They didn't have far to go, Kagome's quarters being close to Sesshomaru's, and as they drew nearer, he could smell his General's pain, taste her cries in the air. He picked up his pace, and was flying through the halls. He couldn't shove open the doors to her chambers fast enough, and he pushed through. He froze, eyes wide, at the sight that greeted him.

Kagome was laid out on her bed, dressed hastily in a flimsy yukata. It was pulled up to expose her hip, which was a sickly shade of green; and the discoloring was spreading.

Sesshomaru rushed to her bedside and stared down at her, an uncomfortably unfamiliar feeling pulling on his heart.

"My lord," pleaded Tamashi. There was real worry in her voice. "You can save her!"

The taiyoukai was aware of the urgency. The miko was losing consciousness, and that wasn't good.

"General." He infused as much authority as he could into the word. Having been raised by the West since childhood, his call would compel her to obey him.

The baritone voice was floating to her through the fog, and it pulled at Kagome, tugged at her. She instinctively knew that it belonged to someone who was to be obeyed.

"Mm…yeah?" She could barely drag the words past her lips. Her tongue felt heavy, useless.

"This is going to hurt."

"Mm…what?"

And then suddenly, there was a bright explosion of pain, even fierier than the last, on her hip. She couldn't stop herself, she screamed, because it felt like acid was being pumped through her bloodstream.

"Stop it!" But the pain didn't stop, it only increased. She cried out again. Her blood was on fire. She thrashed on the bloodied sheets, wanting only to escape the agony.

But it was strange, because slowly the pain was receding from her body, being gathered toward one spot, and then it was flooding out of her, pouring away, and it felt so wonderful. It was like she had been living in a haze of pain her whole life, and finally she was having a reprieve. She groaned. The fog was pulling away from her, and her vision, she could see again.

Gradually, a pair of golden eyes came into focus. "Sesshomaru," she whispered.

"General. You will not die while under my care. You would do well to keep that in mind. You have duties yet to perform for the West."

She smiled weakly. That was so like him. "Did you save me?" All the strength was sapped out of her. She knew that it was him, it couldn't have been anyone else. But still she asked, for when else would she get the chance to get him to talk from the heart?

Sesshomaru stared down at her. Was she wrong, or was there a strange, unfamiliar look in his eyes she had never seen in them before? "Yes. I injected a special strain of my own venom into your bloodstream to neutralize the poison from the knife, and then removed all of it. You will be fine after a rest."

Kagome leaned back on her pillows, feeling exhausted. She felt so ashamed of herself for falling under the knife. By a mere servant! Her eyes flew open. What had happened to her handmaiden? "What happened to Kahiko?"

His eyes hardened. "She is being interrogated."

She struggled to rise, but a clawed hand gently pushed her back down. "No, stop it," she said distractedly. At a raised eyebrow, she added quickly, "My lord. Um, I would like to see to her myself." Really, Kagome didn't want to see her handmaiden again, not after she had betrayed her, but she wanted revenge. And she wanted to know why.

Sesshomaru considered her, then shook his head. "You are too unwell."

"I'm fine, my lord," she protested. "You healed me."

"Stay in bed."

She glared at him. "Kahiko tried to kill me, Lord Sesshomaru. I believe I have the privilege of killing her myself. My lord," she added hastily. She didn't know what came over her. She was normally a lot more polite, but then, almost dying had given her a bold edge.

He matched her glare with one of his own. "You will stay in bed. I will send word when she dies under the torture. Rest assured, her death will not be one of ease."

"I will kill her myself!" Kagome seethed. "She tries to kill me, I kill her, it's only fair…my lord," she added again, a little embarrassed. "Please."

Sesshomaru blinked. Then he relented. "Very well. When her interrogation is over, _if _she survives, and _after_ you are well once more, you may have the privilege of taking her life."

Vicious pleasure washed through Kagome. She bowed her head. "Thank you, my lord."

"Hn."

Sesshomaru was starting to look distinctly uncomfortable. Maybe he got like that whenever the conversation started to turn to emotions. He recovered quickly.

"General, you will sleep."

Now it was her turn to blink. "What? No! I'm not sleepy at…all…" Kagome reddened as she yawned. "I don't want to sleep," she said defiantly.

Sesshomaru regarded her with an almost-exasperated gaze. "General, you will sleep if I must drug you with a sleeping poison in order to make you do so." His tone made it clear that he was deadly serious.

Scowling, Kagome reached for the sheets…and realized how high her yukata was hiked up. Blushing, she yanked it down and took refuge under the blankets.

As soon as she closed her eyes, she felt fatigue wash over her and start to drag her down into the depths of sleep. Kagome gave in, but she was aware of a piercing gaze penetrating the fabric, boring into her. Feeling her cheeks get hotter, she hurled herself into her dreams, determined to escape his eyes.

Sesshomaru watched as his general succumbed to her fatigue. As he realized that she was safe, he slowly began to relax. And as he did, he became aware of a strange, unfamiliar feeling, welling up inside him. What was this? What was this warmth? He had no name or word for this sensation…

"Relief."

Reluctantly, he tore his eyes from the slumbering miko, no, _his_ slumbering miko, and met the square gaze of Tamashi No Uta. Was he wrong, or was there a hint of amusement in those hazel irises.

"Relief," she repeated. "You feel relief at the knowledge that the General Higurashi is safe. That is what you feel, that is what you show in your body posture, in your eyes; relief."

Was it just him, or was there a ghost of a smile, a shadow of a shadow of a grin, hitching up one corner of her mouth? Sesshomaru felt that all was not as it seemed, but as he could not pinpoint the problem, he simply gave a "Hn," and exited the room with as much dignity as he could muster. Ridiculous. He did not feel emotions. He was the cold Lord of the West. Tamashi tipped her head at his hastily retreating figure.

_I'll stab myself with Shirukusasu if that's not love I see there too,_ Tamashi added silently, smirking to herself, while she kept up a solemn façade for her Lord.


	5. Amusement

CH 5

Kagome yawned luxuriously, bathing in the sunlight that washed onto her bed. "I feel great… Can you draw up a bath for me, Kahi—" She stopped herself from completing the sentence. The demoness she had once trusted was now in the dungeons, being tortured. Never again would she assist Kagome in drawing up her bath. Or in any way, for that matter, except perhaps assuaging her thirst for revenge.

Slowly, she pulled herself out of bed, her good mood ruined. Kagome frowned as she became aware of a horrible taste in her mouth. "Gah, I hate morning breath," she spat, trying her best not to let her tongue brush the roof of her mouth.

Stretching, she padded to the bathroom. "And I'm really hungry," she grumbled. When was the last time she had eaten? She tried to remember but couldn't. A long time, was all she knew for sure. "I wouldn't say no to some tasty soup and rice."

Kagome broke her habits, not spending over an hour in the tub as she usually would. For one, she was damn hungry, and two, she didn't really want to have to linger in the room where one of the very few people she trusted had stabbed her in the back. Well, not in the back literally, but still…

Wrapping a fluffy robe around herself, she slip-and-slid out of the damp chamber. It was lonely, her large chambers normally filled up with the bright, bustling thing that was Kahiko. Dressing herself felt depressing, her body accustomed to the help provided by the osprey youkai. Sighing heavily, she finished up, holding her yellow sash and blue sashes together lengthwise and knotting it at her side. She headed down to the kitchens. Judging by the sunlight filtering through her shades, it was midday, and she didn't want to have to inconvenience the cooks by making them cook another round of breakfast just for her, when they should have been preparing lunch.

Dressed in her usual navy blue, dark-pinkish-red-edged uniform with the high, stiff collar, held closed with the gold plum blossoms pins (gift from Sesshomaru upon her appointment as General), and her twin katana strapped onto her back in a criss-cross, she was ready to face the day.

Kagome pushed past the double doors and frowned. There were four guards, two on each side of the doorway. "What are you guys doing?" They were some of her best soldiers.

The biggest youkai scratched his head sheepishly. "Um, General Kagome, it wasn't that we were being perv—"

The smallest youkai, a demoness with shiny black hair and pink irises, smacked him on the arm. "Shut up! General," she added, saluting Kagome smartly. "Lord Sesshomaru has assigned a permanent guard to your chambers. We heard about what happened… I'm sorry I wasn't here."

"Don't be, Yura," said Kagome warmly. Her smile was a little stiff, but it was there. "It caught me unawares, too." Secretly, she was a little angry at her lord. Fine, she had gotten wounded, but it wasn't like she would make the same mistake twice or anything. She didn't need a rotation of guards watching over her twenty-four/seven! "How've you guys been? That battle yesterday was pretty tough, yeah?"

Her guards exchanged looks. "The battle was three days ago, General," said a demoness named Soten. She was a relatively young storm youkai. "You've been out since the night of the battle."

Kagome's jaw dropped. "No way," she said weakly. "I don't _feel_ like I've been sleeping for three days."

Yura smiled. "Believe it, General."

"And the battle really was great," reassured Soten. "I mean, what with the enemy ratio, we were outnumbered five to one, but they lost way more soldiers! It was those drills you assigned us, General. They really helped."

Kagome's smile became a little more natural. "You think so? Well…"

"Yes!" said Yura enthusiastically. "But it was shameful. No one with very good quality hair, except, of course, Inuyasha. His hair, it's so gorgeous… But it pales in comparison to Lord Sesshomaru's!"

Kagome and her guards laughed a little awkwardly. None of them had ever known how to respond to these frequent comments.

"Oh well… I'm going to grab some food. I'm starving," said Kagome fervently. "See you."

She turned to go, but Soten called out hesitantly, "Er, General, we'll go with you…"

Kagome raised an eyebrow. "No need. I can walk down to the kitchens without getting myself stabbed in the back, you know."

Yura shuffled her feet. "Of course, General. But… It was Lord Sesshomaru's orders."

Kagome's temper flared. Her fists clenched, and she had to push down the involuntary jump in her reiki. "No, it's okay," she said as evenly as she could. "Seriously." She motioned with her hand. "Stay."

They blinked uncertainly. "General…"

"_Stay_," she repeated, and this time, there was a note of menace in her voice. Turning on her heel, she stalked down the hallway. Hearing hesitant footsteps behind her, she stopped. "By the time I turn around, you better be back at your posts," she warned.

"That's just it, General," came an uncomfortable voice. "You _are_ our post. We're assigned to you."

It was getting increasingly hard to hold down her temper. "Look," she said. "How about I go talk to Lord Sesshomaru? I'm sure we can sort this out."

They looked relieved. "Yes, General."

-oOo-

"My lord," called Kagome.

Sesshomaru glanced up from his scrolls. So she had awoken. "General. Enter."

The double doors opened outward, and she stalked in. He watched her gait. She wasn't in the best of moods, he figured. And he knew exactly why. He fixed her with his piercing gaze and waited for her to speak.

Kagome went down on one knee, resting her forearm on top of her knee. She bowed her head, touching it to her arm, and looked up. "My lord," she began. "I believe that the guard that you have assigned to me is unnecessary."

"General, judging on the past events, it seems that they are indeed necessary."

She glared at him. "My lord, it was just that one time—"

"Are you disagreeing with me, General?" There was warning in his voice.

Kagome toned down her glare into a resentful stare. "No, Lord Sesshomaru. But I hardly think an escort of four guards wherever I go is appropriate for this situation. This is our stronghold, our focus of power!"

Sesshomaru hid a smirk behind his icy mask. It was rather amusing when his General got so worked up. The flush of anger on her cheeks flattered her well.

"Higurashi," he purred. "It was inside this 'stronghold,' 'our focus of power' when you were attacked."

Kagome's lip curled. This was something he would never let her forget, she could tell. "My lord, please, I don't need a guard."

Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow. Kagome had copied that habit of his. "Oh? And the next time you are poisoned, you are positive help will reach you in time—like it did three days ago?"

He could practically see the steam coming out of his ears. It really was getting hard to keep the corners of his mouth down.

"I will make you a deal, General. You will keep two guards with you at all times, instead of four."

She opened her mouth to protest, but he cut her off.

"Of course, it could just stay as it was…"

Kagome's eyes narrowed. She knew defeat. "No, my lord," she said through gritted teeth. "Two sounds perfectly fine to me."

When she had left his study—and banged the doors shut behind her—Sesshomaru allowed the smirk to emerge.

"Ah, General…"

How she amused him.


	6. Breakdown

CH 6

"I-it's time, General."

Kagome looked up, confusion in her eyes. "Time for what?" The messenger blinked down at her, clearly unnerved at holding a conversation with the General. He was probably new on the job.

"T-the execution of the p-prisoner, General." He made a feeble attempt at a salute, but succeeded only in knocking his cap off.

She forced down a laugh. "At ease, comrade," she said easily. "And don't go around saluting. You shouldn't when it's reserved for the army, and you know, you're a messenger. You're part of the diplomatic wing."

He gasped, then hurriedly snapped his arm back down to his side. He bowed rigidly. "M-my sincerest apologies, G-g-general!"

Kagome eyed him with a little alarm. He was a potential danger to himself. "Calm down," she said quietly. "You're overexcited right now."

He looked crestfallen, and immediately wrenched down his rigid shoulders into a slouch.

Kagome smiled. "Just relax. And thanks for the message. You can go."

He hurried backwards, bowing repeatedly. "Thank you, G-general!"

She stared curiously after him. "Strange little fellow, isn't he?" Then her mood darkened. Touching a finger to the katana strapped onto her back, Kagome made her way toward the grounds, heart heavy. She would not enjoy this.

-oOo-

There was a sparse gathering of youkai on the yard. In the center was a bound, feathery figure. Over her stood a tall figure crowned with silver.

She made her way hesitantly over to the silent group. The spectators parted quickly before her, as if she carried a disease with her. And in a way, she did. She carried the disease of an executioner. Kagome almost wished that she would trip on a stone, if only to interrupt the solemn fall of her footsteps that echoed loudly in her head. Wish not granted, she made her way to the center of the solemn circle.

"General," said Sesshomaru. He stared at her, his bright citrine eyes glowing despite the bright background of midday. "Finally you deign to join us."

"My apologies," replied Kagome, dropping to one knee before her lord. "It took me a while to receive the message."

"Rise, General. Today is your day. You will reclaim your honor with a single sweep of your katana."

Kagome got to her feet, determinedly keeping her gaze away from her former friend. "Of course, my lord. May I have the honor of the sentencing?"

"This Sesshomaru has no issue with it, considering the fact that it was you who was assaulted."

"Thank you, my lord." She dipped her head, then turned on her heel to glare down, finally, at the prisoner. There was numbness in every part of her body. She had confided in her handmaiden. Not army secrets, to be sure, but secrets of her heart. She had trusted her. She had thought of her as a friend. And now… Kagome steeled her heart and forced herself to remove the Taka and Tsuru from their sheaths. "Madaraishi Kahiko, you are accused and found guilty of the crimes of betraying the West and assaulting the General Higurashi Kagome of the West. Hereby you are sentenced to death by the hands of aforesaid General Higurashi Kagome."

The osprey youkai looked up through the tangled strands of white hair that obscured her face. The glaring yellow of her irises was diminished by what she had gone through for the past three days. "My lady," she said weakly. "Forgive me. I truly had no choice."

Kagome's heart wrenched. "Silence yourself, prisoner," she said, her voice deadly quiet. She concentrated on bringing the shock of her betrayal up to the front, and to her gratitude, she could feel the familiar ice spreading through her veins. The ice that made itself known right before a kill. "You wormed yourself into the ranks of the West under false pretenses, and you have revealed your true intentions. You were meant to assassinate me. You are a _traitor,_" she spat venomously. Her grip on the hilts of her katana tightened.

Kahiko flinched at her scathing words. "That was not my intention, my lady," she said. "Initially, I was simply to gain your confidences. What… what came later was not my choice. I did not want it."

Another pang in Kagome's chest. The friendship had been fake from the start. She had been hoping that perhaps her handmaiden had truly been a friend, and that she had been forced to attack her on orders from Inuyasha. House loyalties, she could understand.

"From the very beginning," she sneered. "From the very start, you were nothing but a traitor. And so much for not having a choice. If you were truly my friend, you would have chosen not to attack me. I could have sheltered you from Inuyasha's wrath. But no. You…" Her voice shook, and she paused to let the ice flow through her blood once again. "You are nothing to me now."

Kahiko bowed her head. "I accept my fate. But please… find it in your heart to forgive me, my lady. If we were ever friends, please, forgive me for my deed. And, after I am dead, I beg you, to bury me in a field of violets, where blue skies can shine down on me."

"Shut up!" Kagome cried, losing her composure. "We were never friends! Shut up, shut up!" she added when the demoness's mouth opened to speak again. "I don't want to hear it! I hate you! I trusted you! I thought you my friend, yeah, but now it's all gone! It's all your fault! It's _your fault!"_ Wisps of red clouded her vision. Terrible memories were surfacing at the youkai's words, painful memories. Memories that she had buried deep within herself, so agonizing were they. "Shut up, shut up, shut up!" No one was speaking, but yet there were voices in her head. She was going mad.

She was vaguely aware of everyone staring at her, but no, her head was pounding, and there was so much she wanted to forget. No, no, why couldn't she just forget it all?

Sesshomaru was shocked. The General was having a breakdown. She hadn't had those for at least a decade. He had never known why certain words triggered an emotional outflow from her, but he had let it pass as over the years, she had stopped having those breakdowns. He had simply thought that it was related to her past.

"Please, just stop, just… _shut up!_ I can't stand it anymore!" she cried, clutching at her head. She dropped her katana with a clatter and sank to her knees, doubling over. "No, no, no, no…"

Sesshomaru stepped forward and bent down to place his hand on her shoulder. The moment his fingers made contact, she jerked away, as if burned.

"No, stop it! It wasn't my fault! No, please! It wasn't me, it wasn't me!"

"No one is accusing you of anything, Kagome," he said uncertainly.

"Kagome? Who's that? No, no, no! I'm so sorry! If only I hadn't left, maybe I could have stopped all of this! No, no, no!" She was sobbing, tears streaking down her face.

The osprey demoness was backing away, fear clear in her eyes. She had never seen her lady like this, and frankly, it scared her. "Are… are you okay…?" The General stared at her wildly. Kahiko could see the whites of her eyes surrounding the blue of her irises.

"Mama! No, no! Why? Why us? Where is he? Is he here? No, I can't see him! No, wait! Is that him? No, no, no, it can't be! No! How could this happen?"

This behavior was unnerving, Sesshomaru had to admit. He crouched down and forced her head up, grasping her chin and turning it so that he looked fully into her face. Her eyes were tightly shut.

"Look at me," he commanded. "General, do you even know what you are saying?"

She refused to open her eyes. She didn't want to look at all the blood. But the voice, deep and baritone, had a tone of authority that demanded her obedience. But was he even speaking to her? Since when was she a general? Yes, he had to be talking to someone else. She did nothing.

"General," he repeated. "Can you hear me?"

"Do… do you mean me?" she asked weakly.

He frowned. Was she completely out of it? Perhaps she was locked in a dreamscape? "I am talking to you, Kagome Higurashi." Perhaps she would have no memory of being the General of the West, but she would have to know her own name.

"My name's not Kagome!" Kagome protested. "What are you talking about? Oh, just make all the blood stop! And… and the smoke! The crows, the stench! No, no, get away!"

Sesshomaru was completely confused. What the hell was going on? Something the osprey youkai had said had triggered this somehow. But what was this? "Look at me," he repeated. Her slight form was shaking, and she was crying, her tears lacing the air with the scent of her sorrow. Very slowly, she opened her eyes, chin still in his grasp. The look in her eyes… They were completely blank.

"Who… who are you?" she said, bewildered, through her thick tears.

"I am Sesshomaru," he said slowly. Did she not recognize him?

"What are you doing here? Oh," she said, eyes widening. She reached out a trembling hand to stroke at his clothes. "Are… are these real silk? They're so soft. Oh no!" she gasped, scrambling backwards. "Are you a nobleman? I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have touched you! Please forgive me!"

Sesshomaru decided to humor her. "It is of no matter. But what is wrong?"

The gratified look on her face froze. "No, please, no! Kami no, it wasn't you?"

"Me?"

"Did you do this?" She swept an arm out, gesturing around her. He didn't have to look to know that she was talking about something only she could see.

"No, it was not I."

She looked around frantically and seemed to notice Kahiko for the first time since she started breaking down. "Why is she all tied up? Is she being punished? Wait, wait, wait, did _she _do this? Did she betray us?"

"Yes, she betrayed us," said Sesshomaru. Somehow he did not think that she meant the West.

Hatred lit up her eyes, and there was a truly frightening look on her face, full of loathing. "I'll kill you," she snarled, and wrenched her head away to direct her glare directly at the demoness. "I'll make you pay for this!" She scrabbled to her feet and reached for one of her katana, holding it like a novice, Sesshomaru noticed; with none of the easy skill that she normally possessed. "It's your fault!" she repeated, an insane light in her blue irises.

Kahiko opened her cracked lips to say something, but only a scream echoed up from her throat. Kagome had slashed her open from her left shoulder to her right hip. With a snarl set firmly on her lips, the General raised the katana high over her head, and brought it down in a large arc.

Blood sprayed the stones.

Kagome stared, fascinated, at the scarlet webbing that was spreading along the cobblestones, like a red spiderweb. Slowly, she looked up. The traitor was crumbling slowly to dust, white dust with speckles of black. First the left side of her body, then gradually the disintegration was spreading to her entire body. Soon, all that could be distinguished was one terrified yellow eyes, and then that crumbled too.

She sat back, eyes wide. She had actually killed someone. What would Mama say? No, this was right, she told herself. She had avenged everyone. Kagome gazed at the cloud of gray, dispersing in the slow breeze. Like ashes. She stiffened.

"No, not the ashes," she said hoarsely.

Sesshomaru frowned. His gaze lifted from the miko to meet the steady gaze of Tamashi No Uta. Silently, he asked what to do. If this was a woman-related problem, he was out of his league. The solemn hazel eyes told him to do what he had to do. He returned his gaze to the General, who was now rocking back and forth, shaking her head vehemently, chanting a sing-song "No, no, no…"

The taiyoukai reached out and took hold of Kagome, banding his arm around her middle. He pulled her close, completely unaware of the audience. She ignored him, continuing the mantra.

"No, no, no, no, no…"

Grimacing, Sesshomaru jabbed his fingers at the base of her neck. He felt her body stiffen against his chest, then loosen. She went slack in his arms, no longer conscious. He stood up, shifting her gently so that she rested in his arms comfortably. Tamashi moved quietly forward to scoop up the abandoned katana. She stood behind him. He swept his gaze around the courtyard. The youkai assembled there had been staring at them, but they all dropped their gazes. He read bewilderment in every face.

"What happened here stays here," Sesshomaru said. "Is that understood?"

"Yes, Lord Sesshomaru," came the babble of response. He nodded curtly, turned on his heel, and set off for the palace, his general nestled in his embrace. He was painfully aware of the tear tracks drying on her face. He would leave her in Tamashi's care.

And he would have to find out more about Higurashi's past. He intended to end the breakdowns for good. It wouldn't do for the soldiers' morale to see their General on her knees, he told himself. There was absolutely no other reason.

Absolutely none.

* * *

**Okay, now, I'm sure this chappie was a surprise to all of you! So okay... What do you think?**


	7. Sashes and Ashes

CH 7

_The girl giggled as she threaded her away about the marketplace. She was looking for a certain man. _

_With a laugh, she found him, the old man with a face wrinkled like a prune, shut behind his stall, built with wood as aged as he. _

_She ran to him. "Hi, Rankushi-san!" she chirped. "How are you?"_

_"Very good," he replied, eyes twinkling. "And how have you been, my little hime?"_

_"Really good!" She shuffled her feet, suddenly looking awkward. "Um, Rankushi-san, do you still have those sashes? The ones I've been paying off? You haven't given them away?"_

_He smiled. "Don't worry, my little hime," he said. "I have them stored away, just for you." From behind his counter he got out a slim box made of dark wood. _

_The girl fished at her yukata sash and untied a small pouch. She upended it on the counter, and a pile of bronze coins skittered out. "I think I have enough to pay it all off!" she said excitedly._

_"Is that so? Aren't you quite the rich little hime," chuckled the old man. His fingers moved deftly over the coins. He set aside five coins and swept the rest into a large pouch. "You have indeed paid for these sashes!" He handed the box to the girl. "You've worked hard for it, my little hime."_

_She dropped the handful of coins back into her pouch and received the box with awe. "Oh, thank you, thank you, Rankushi-san!" she whispered. She looked up and smiled brilliantly. "Bye, Rankushi-san! Thank you!"_

_"Thank you, my little hime."_

_The girl trotted away from the stall, waving over her shoulder. She slid open the box as she walked, as always, her breath caught at the beauty of the items enclosed._

_He'll love them._

-_oOo_-

_He did._

_He stared at them awe. "For me?"_

_"No," she scoffed sarcastically, scuffing her bare feet on the forest floor. She twisted her hands behind her. "For Hojo."_

_His gaze snapped up to her, and there was hurt in those teal eyes. "Hey, that's not funny!" he protested. "How can you even joke about that? He's a total wuss!"_

_She laughed. "Okay, sorry," she said, not sorry at all, slightly pleased. "So…?"_

_"They're so beautiful!" He lifted the sashes out of the box. "Look at this white one! It's so clean-looking! I'll probably get it all dirty, though. The red one is so bright. No one else in our village has cloth this vivid." He paused, and looked gently at the girl. "And this blue one… I like this one the best. It's true blue… just like your eyes." He reached out and traced a finger under her left eye. She blushed, and tried to cover it up. _

_"Well, okay. What did you get me?"_

_His eyes got wide. "Get…you…something? Um…"_

_She frowned, but replaced it quickly with a tight smile. "Naw, it's okay. What did I expect from a boy?" She turned and started walking away. _

_He ran after her. "Hey, wait! I was just kidding!" He reached for his sash and pulled out a thin tube. "See?" _

_She turned and looked at the tiny item. "What is it?"_

_He grinned. "I know you're not a girly-girl, but girls tend to like this kind of thing, and it would match your eyes, so, well…so…"_

_"Give me it already!" She made a joking snatch for it, and he let her take it. She examined it. "What is this thing? No, wait, I found it." She uncapped it, revealing a robin egg- blue nub. "Huh?"_

_He grinned. "It's one of those sticks you rub on your eyelids." _

_"Aww, thanks!" She fiddled with the base, and the nub grew longer; she twisted the other way, and it shortened. "Awsome! It's as blue as the sky!"_

_"Your present was better," he said, looking a tad bit embarrassed. _

_She looked up. "No, don't be like that! The sashes weren't **that **expensive. This thing must have taken you months to pay off. Don't think I haven't noticed you slipping off to that woman's booth every time we go to the town with the marketplace."_

_"Well, yeah, but the sashes took you months too. Don't think **I **haven't noticed **you **running off to that old man's stall." He crossed his arms and grinned wider. All this mushy-stuff was beyond him, but he was fine with this jesting. _

_"Nuh-uh!" _

_The argument continued for the rest of their walk home. Right before he turned off to his hut, he waved the sashes over his head._

_"Hey, I'm gonna wear these on special occasions!" he shouted. "The blue on my head, the red and white at my waist!" _

_"Nice. I'll wear this makeup thing whenever you wear those sashes! I have no idea how to put this thing on. I'll probably just smear this thing all over my eyes and end up looking like an idiot. As usual."_

_"You could ask your mom."_

_"Huh, yeah. Oh well, see ya."_

_"See ya!" _

-oOo-

Kagome sipped at her soup. "Why is everyone staring at me?" she said defensively. Everyone, including Lord Sesshomaru and all the minor lords, ladies, and high-ranking army officers were sneaking glances at her between bites.

Sesshomaru swallowed a mouthful of raw meat. "Do you truly have no recollection of the afternoon?" he asked quietly.

She wrinkled her nose. "Now that I think about it… I just remember going down to the execution, but I don't remember actually _doing_ it. That is so weird. Oh, my compliments to the chef, by the way, this soup is amazing." Now everyone was staring flat-out at her. Did she have something on her face or something? She dabbed at her mouth with her napkin delicately, hoping that she would get it off. "What?" she said defensively. "Seriously, quit staring at me!"

Now everyone exchanged meaningful looks. Kagome was starting to get annoyed. "Lord Sesshomaru, may I be excused?" She wasn't going to sit there and be gawked at. She would go to her rooms and look in the mirror and see what in the hell they were all laughing at.

"You are excused, General."

She frowned. "Thank you, my lord." She left the dining room, confident that they were all busting their seams behind her back.

She hurried through the castle. Yes, even the servants going about doing their work were staring at her. She heard Soten and Yura fall in step behind her, and whirled around.

"Alright, what's so funny?" she growled. They looked a little nervous.

"N-nothing is remotely funny, General," promised Soten, scarlet eyes wide. Yura nodded. Their Lord had forbidden them to mention the incident to their General unless she brought it up first. And they had heard her saying that she had no memory of it, so they were technically to say nay a word about the happenings of the afternoon, since people didn't really talk about things they didn't remember.

"There's a reason that everyone's sneaking looks at me," Kagome insisted. She hated being laughed at without knowing the reason why. "So tell me. I command you, as your General," she added when her guards exchanged nervous looks. "Tell me, _now._"

"We—we really can't," stammered Yura.

Kagome narrowed her eyes. "Is it anything on my face? Eye crusts? Drool marks?" She forced herself to add, "Any… bats in the cave?"

Soten stifled a smirk at the last one. "No eye crusts, drool marks, or…_bats in the cave_, General, I promise. Nothing of the sort."

"Then what is it?" Was there a rumor going around about her? She should have known that they would never accept her for her human heritage, no matter how well she performed her job. But no, Sesshomaru wouldn't listen to rumors. He wasn't the type to lend his ear to gossip. What the hell was going on?

"General."

Kagome looked past the strained faces of her guards to meet the steady gaze of her Lord. "Sesshomaru-sama," she said, and dipped her head.

He nodded to acknowledge her show of respect. "Come, walk with me in the gardens. You are dismissed," he added to her guards. They promptly left the scene, looking relieved.

Kagome waited until they were on the cobbled stone paths of the flourishing gardens, then spoke. "Lord Sesshomaru, were they laughing at me back in the dining room?"

He watched a sakura petal float lazily past, borne on the fragrant breeze. "No, I do not believe they were laughing at you."

"Then what is it?"

Sesshomaru hesitated. Would she have another breakdown if he reminded her of the one in the afternoon? He would have to leave it to her. She deserved to know.

"You had a breakdown at the execution," he said quietly, watching her face closely for any hint of a dangerous reaction.

Kagome froze. Another one? But she hadn't had one for so long… She was so sure she had buried those painful memories far beneath her consciousness… So that was why they had been staring at her. "Did I go completely mad?"

Sesshomaru considered the question. "You did not recall the memories of your life at the West. You did not answer to your name, nor your title. You seemed to be locked in a horror landscape, one that involved… Crows, smoke, and ashes."

Her body was stiffening. _No, no, bad girl, have to keep those images back, have to force them into the shadows… _Her vision was tunneling. No, she couldn't have another breakdown…

"General. At some point in your past, did you have another name?" She clung gratefully to his words as if they were a lifeline. But when they registered in her head, she almost lost her grip, almost fell back into the darkness.

"P-please, Sesshomaru-sama, please don't ask me those questions." She didn't want to live the pain again. "I would… I would rather forget. And it's my problem, mine alone."

Sesshomaru viewed her with concern. "General, when your problems endanger the West, they become mine as well."

"I know, my lord. It won't happen again. Please, can we just put it behind us?" Yes, that was where the memories belonged; in the past.

He did not believe the small human woman. But he decided to ease up a little. Just a little. "Do you have any idea what triggered your breakdown? I must know," he added as blue eyes clouded with pain. "To ensure that the scenario does not repeat itself."

She fixed her gaze on a bellflower. As she watched, a butterfly flitted over to the flower and landed delicately on its petals, setting it bobbing up and down.

"I have no idea," she admitted. "It's just as soon as _her_ words registered in my brain, it started something like a domino tile reaction. First it was just tiny flashes of the memories, and then… it washed over me like a flood, and I was carried away into my past."

Sesshomaru set his line of sight on the same bellflower she was watching. Together they observed the butterfly extracting nectar from the beautiful blossom.

"General," he began. She turned her head to look at him inquisitively. "You swore your fealty to me as a serving soldier when you were seven years of age. Before that, I have no idea of your history. Without knowing how your past affects you, I cannot protect you."

"It's not me you want to protect, though," said Kagome, bitterly, carelessly. "It's the West, right, Sesshomaru-sama?" Emotions were churning inside her, like ocean waves crashing against a cliff. Eventually the wall would wear away, and they would come flooding out. "Nothing personal? Just what am I to you, my lord?"

She waited, eyes fixed determinedly on the flower, ears straining to hear his answer, at the same time not wanting to hear.

Sesshomaru stared at the sky, painfully aware of everything and nothing. His answer, he could tell, would determine their future relationship.

What was Higurashi to him? She was his solder, his general, his vassal. All of these were good, sensible answers. Bu he sensed that he could not say anything along those lines. She wanted him to say something different. But was he willing to go there? Was he willing to take a step into the dark, the unexplored? For a lord and his soldier to have a… romantic relationship was a breach of a silent law. It could lead to too much pain. And honestly, he didn't want to stake all of his love in a human. She would soon be but a fleeting dream to his long years of life; just another scrap of memory to add to the large collection. When she died, he would bury his heart with her. And he could not do that. That would imperil the West. His sole duty was to continue the line, to conquer, to rule, to dominate. No, he could not go there with the General.

"You are my comrade, General." To her inquisitive gaze, he added with a heavy heart, "Nothing more."

Kagome lowered her gaze, and the cobblestones wavered, her vision swimming. All this time, then, he had been playing her for a fool, leading her along with false hopes? No, she could not blame him. She would blame herself. He had never tried to imply anything romantic; she had simply assumed things. She had buried him too deep in her heart, and now she would pay the price. Yet another blow, this one would shake her to the core, rip her apart. This would be far worse than Kahiko's betrayal. It was just like _that time_. Back when she was carefree, rolling around in the dirt like any other girl of her age. She had seen horrible things, had been forced to awaken to the horrors of the world far too early. That one morning, so long ago, had brought a hellfire that destroyed her entire world. And now, another part of her would die, would shrivel up and die in this beautiful, aromatic garden.

"I see, Sesshomaru-sama." The emotion had seeped out of her voice. She looked at the stone, the weathered, mottled gray. "Don't worry. The breakdowns, they won't ever happen again."

Sesshomaru wanted to say something more, but they caught in his throat, clung to his lips. Finally, all he could say was, "See to it that they do not, Higurashi."

Kagome nodded numbly. "If I may be excused," she said curtly, and bowed her head. Turning on her heel, she exited the garden, her dreams wilting and falling at her feet like so many tattered petals.


	8. Battle

**Oh, I think I might have forgotten to mention, Tamashi no Uta is No Uta's OC! She's a good friend of mine, so I thought it would be fun if I added 'her' to my stories! Just in case you didn't know!**

* * *

CH 8

Since that day, Kagome avoided Sesshomaru as much as possible, but unfortunately, that wasn't much, since she was his general and he her liege lord. They ate meals together and had to discuss battle tactics. And then there was the sparring.

From time to time, whenever their free times coincided, they usually fought each other. Kagome, though, had taken measures since their conversation in the garden to make sure that her free time was always during his busy hours. But she couldn't foresee everything.

When a war meeting was cancelled due to an attack on the border that called for several of the youkai who were scheduled to be in the meeting, Sesshomaru approached Kagome.

"General."

Kagome looked up from a map of the West and East she was looking at, dread filling her heart. She knew what he wanted. She normally enjoyed fighting him, but now it was just too awkward.

"Er, yes, my lord?"

"We have not trained together for quite some time. We should have a spar." He knew she was avoiding him, and he was sick of it. He had never realized how much the fights meant to him until they had stopped. His claws itched for someone worthy to fight.

She glanced at the map. "Um, Lord Sesshomaru, actually, I was—"

"General," Sesshomaru interrupted. "I demand a sparring session from you. I grow weary of paperwork, my fingers are stained with ink, the smell of which I detest, and I would like to cross blades with you."

Kagome gave up. "Yes, my lord." She always kept her katana with her, so she did not have an excuse to go to her rooms. She followed the taiyoukai to the training grounds, where some of the soldiers were drilling.

When the youkai saw the pair approaching, they hurriedly cleared the field. The fights between their General and Lord could get quite… intense. They had quite a reputation. Before long, a crowd of soldiers had gathered along the sidelines. They loved to watch the battles; they learned techniques, and let's admit it, everyone likes to see a fight.

Kagome and Sesshomaru walked to opposite sides of the field. Their eyes locked for the first time in days, blue and gold. She felt a dull pain in her chest at the depth of the citrine irises. And then she dismissed the pang. It was all over.

With a shout, Kagome slammed her foot down on the ground, focusing her powers as never before. She had read a phrase in an old scroll that had given her an idea for a new move. It required immense power and control.

_"Ketsumatsu no shinseina-te!"_ _ Sacred hand of judgment_

Her eyes screwed tightly shut, Kagome raised her right hand so that her forearm was directly perpendicular to the ground. She opened her hand wide, and focused all of her powers _into_ the hand, yet _not. _There was an powerful tug in her gut, a huge sapping of her energy level. Her vision blurred for a second. She repeated the phrase in her head:

_And so the miko passed a sacred hand of judgment over the youkai, purifying those with evil heart. _

Sesshomaru was puzzled. What was his General doing? She had a look of immense concentration on her face. And then he felt it. A huge amount of reiki, forming… beneath his feet? He glanced down.

She was panting now. She fought to control her breath, and snarled, a purely animalistic sound, a sound of concentration.

The ground around Sesshomaru's feet erupted.

Five points of glowing pink energy emerged from the rubble and towered toward the sky, bringing up columns beneath them. He cast his gaze around, and as the columns rose, he realized that they were not columns, but _fingers_.

Kagome grimaced and contorted her hand. The huge hand of reiki mimicked every movement she made with her own. She raised her arm up a couple inches, and the sacred hand rose out of the earth a few more feet.

It had worked! It had actually worked! This was her first actual try, and it had worked. This was amazing… but tiring. Her reiki level was clanging down at an alarming rate. She had to end this fight as soon as possible. She could sense her soldiers' awe. Certainly, this had to be a spectacular display. How did _he_ feel about all this?

Sesshomaru was impressed. He could tell this was a first try; if she had attempted to make this move beforehand, in a private training session, he would have sensed the large amount of reiki that it would have required. The General was full of tricks, and he was sure she had yet to reveal her ace. When she did, he would be ready to counter it. This was what he enjoyed so much about fighting Higurashi; every time she tried something new, and every time it got harder to force her into submission. But the harder it was, the sweeter the victory. He delighted in dominating his General. The stronger she was, the better it was when she submitted to him. There was no fun in weaklings submitting to him. It was when the strong bowed down to him that he truly enjoyed it.

White fangs glinting dangerously, Sesshomaru let his youki spill from his aura unrestrained. The hand of holy energy she was pressing down on him strained to close its fingers around him, but his youki pulsed against the pure pink palm.

Kagome scowled. She was trying to close her fist, but she couldn't. It was a very strange feeling. She knew perfectly well that there was nothing obstructing her from her goal, yet there was. In linking her actual hand to the hand of reiki, she had activated a bond between them. Gritting her teeth, Kagome tried harder, but she just couldn't. Her lord was simply too powerful.

_Damn… I will win this battle, if only for my injured pride!_

She drastically upped her level of reiki output. Her fingers got just a little bit closer together, and she allowed herself a strained smile. This workout was taking its toll on her. She was short on breath, and she was sweating in her military uniform.

Sesshomaru frowned as his youki was pushed in by the General's holy fist. _I will not lose to her. I refuse to! _He decided to end this particular struggle. He moved with inhuman speed, and slipped out through the fingers of holy energy. It closed into a tight fist, and Sesshomaru smirked. This fight was his.

Realizing the Sesshomaru had escaped her trap, Kagome extinguished her holy fist with some relief. With a growl, she saw him speeding directly for her. In an instant, her katana were drawn. She braced herself for an impact, and was lucky she did.

Sesshomaru's blade Tokijin collided with her crossed katana with such force that her braced feet were forced back several feet, leaving drag marks in the dirt. For a split second, their eyes met over their blades. An electric spark tingled down Kagome's spine, but she dismissed it and pushed herself away from the struggle, landing lightly on her feet. Sesshomaru sprang back and landed with perfect poise. He regarded her intently.

"Just where did you learn that trick, General? It is most impressive."

Kagome shrugged with false nonchalance. "Oh, just picked it up somewhere. But you really shouldn't be concerned about _where_ I learned it… You should be more concerned about _how _I intend to use it!"

She slipped her katana back into their sheaths on her back, and in a reckless move, maneuvered _both _her hands into the position. Lips drawn back in a snarl, she summoned up her reiki again.

Sesshomaru wasn't about to be caught a second time. As the two hands exploded out of the earth, he leapt clear just as they clapped together.

Kagome was gasping for breath now. _Ugh… I can't finish this quickly enough! _She abandoned her sacred hands and drew her katana again. She raced toward Sesshomaru, blades held out at her side. _Dammit, I won't let you win! Not this time! Not ever! _

Sesshomaru let her come, Tokijin raised invitingly. When she drew close, he lashed out toward her, jagged volts of energy bursting out from his sword. Kagome barely put up a reiki shield in time It was feeble at best, the majority of her power having gone to fuel her sacred hands, and it flashed weakly as the bolts of youki collided with it.

_No!_

Kagome let it down and attacked Sesshomaru with her katana, trying to distract him from his youki. She probably couldn't withstand another energy attack.

Sesshomaru was very well aware of the General's condition. He knew her weakness, and he intended to exploit it.

As the three blades clashed together once more, he sent out a massive charge of youki along the length of Tokijin. The metal acted as an excellent conductor, and Kagome hissed in pain as she struggled to bring forth the energy to battle his. She gave up and sprang backwards, her sides heaving. She had a very bad feeling that she was going to lose. Again.

Sesshomaru was now certain of his victory. To be truthful, his reservoir of youki was running rather low as well. He had expended a lot of it as he battled the sacred hand. But low as it was, he still had more than the General.

Much, much more.

Kagome snarled and stretched out her hand toward Sesshomaru. Flying from her palm came a flock of small, graceful birds, composed of pure reiki.

He slashed Tokijin down in a long arc, and watched in satisfaction as the jagged bolts of energy flashed toward Higurashi. They ripped through her birds, and they shattered into tiny bits of reiki. His youki continued toward her. In her weakness, she could only stop the first couple of bolts, and succumbed to his youki.

Kagome fought back a cry of pain as his youki wrapped around her, sending spikes of pain through her body.

_I won't be weak. I won't!_

She saw, through narrowed eyes, a blur of white growing rapidly larger. _Have…to get…away…_ She stumbled back, but he brought her crashing to the ground, her face crushed into the dirt. She couldn't breathe.

Sesshomaru leaned in close, his breath tickling her ear. "Submit, General. You fought well, but I won in the end. As I always will."

"Screw off," snarled Kagome through a mouthful of earth. "I won't submit!" She bucked weakly, trying to dislodge him, but failed miserably.

He smirked and dragged her up. He grabbed her arms and twisted them behind her back in the most painful manner he knew. She gasped in pain and arched her back, trying to relieve the tension, but he forced her to be still. If she made the slightest movement, agony would lance up her arms.

Kagome glared at the ground. It always ended like this. _Always_. Without fail, each and every one of their training sessions came to a close with Sesshomaru forcing her into a painful position, demanding her to submit. She held her tongue, pushing down the pain the best she could.

Sesshomaru increased the pressure on her arms, knowing her pain would increase drastically. "Submit," he whispered. His blood was pounding, and his excitement level was skyrocketing up.

Kagome shut her eyes. The agony was excruciating. Damn Sesshomaru, he knew how to inflict pain. It was getting more and more intense by the second. Her arms felt like they were being wrenched out of their sockets. Technically, they were. She gritted her teeth.

"I...submit…" she ground out, face burning with anger and humiliation. He released her abruptly, sending her crashing to the dirt.

His smirk in danger of growing into a full-on smile, Sesshomaru said smoothly, "I accept your submission."

He turned on his heel and moved fluidly away from the training field. Damn, that had felt good. He did _not _look forward to the mountain of paperwork on his desk.

Kagome slowly picked herself up, feeling the sympathetic gazes of the soldiers on her body. "What are you waiting for?" she yelled. "Get back to your posts!" Face on fire, she stomped off to another section of the training field to hack at a couple of innocent dummies.


	9. Field of Violets

CH 9

_ "__Would you ever forget me?"_

_He turned to look at her, surprised. They were reclining in a violet-dotted meadow, lying side by side. She was staring resolutely at the cloudless sky. _

_"__Of course not," he answered. He plucked up a violet from the grass and held it up to the sky. "I'd never forget you." He paused. "Would you forget me, if, say, I happened to go away for a long time?"_

_Sumireko stiffened. "No… But what do you mean? Are you going to go away?" Her voice suddenly turned fearful._

_"__No, no," assured Takahiro. "Just speaking figuratively. I would never leave… But if I ever did, I'd take you with me." He smirked. _

_Sumireko smiled softly. "Same here." Her voice dropped down to a whisper. "I wish we could stay like this forever," she confided. The child snuggled closer to her friend. "Just relaxing in fields of violets, where blue skies can shine down on us." _

_-oOo-_

_"__Takahiro!"_

_Sumireko came running up to him, her bare feet padding lightly on the earth. He grinned at her, showing a missing front tooth. _

_"__Yeah?"_

_She returned his grin, missing front tooth and all. She held up a spool of purple thread and a needle. "My mom just taught me how to sew, and I had a brilliant idea!"_

_She dragged him into his house. "Get your sash. Any one."_

_He scratched his head. "Okay." He disappeared into his room and emerged with the blue sash draped over his arm. _

_Smiling, Sumireko sat down on the wooden floor. She took the sash from the confused boy. Brandishing the needle, she said, "I'm gonna make sure you remember me, forever and ever, if I'm kidnapped and eaten by some demon._

_"__I'd save you," declared Takahiro. "It'd be on my honor. And I'm definitely honorable. My name means noble, and that's like, honorable!"_

_Sumireko giggled. "Your name means noble, not super-strong. You could never kill a demon!" Her tone was more teasing than demeaning._

_Takahiro scowled. "Can too! I'm the strongest boy of my age in the entire village!"_

_At this, the girl laughed, a full, pleasant sound. "How many other eight-year-old boys are there in our village?" She blinked innocently._

_He stuck out his tongue at her. "None," he admitted. "But I can beat Hojo at arm wrestling and he's ten."_

_Sumireko rolled her eyes. "Well, Hojo is Hojo. You know that." She worked away busily at one end of the sash, needle weaving in and out of the blue cloth. She frowned at it, not pleased with the way it was coming out. She had forgotten that if she sewed on one side, there would be bits of thread on the other side. She would have to lift up the surface of the sash, to try to leave as small a trace on the other side as possible. _

_Takahiro blew a raspberry, bored already. "What are you doing, anyways?" He leaned over, trying to see with him. _

_She smacked at him, and yanked her work away. "Hey, don't look! It's gonna be a surprise."_

_He frowned. "But I'm booored."_

_She smiled mischievously. "Then let's play a game."_

_He brightened. "Okay, sure! What?"_

_"__It's called 31," she said. "We take turns counting up consecutively, and whoever says 31 loses. When it's your turn, you can say one, two, or three numbers."_

_"__Alright, I think I get it."_

_"__I'll start. 1, 2, 3."_

_"__4, 5, 6."_

_"__7, 8."_

_"__9, 10, 11."_

_"__12," said Sumireko distractedly, trying to fix a stitch she had messed up. _

_"__13, 14, 15."_

_"__16, 17,18."_

_"__19, 20, 21."_

_Sumireko paused to think carefully. Now was the time when the numbers became truly crucial. "22," she said cautiously._

_"__23, 24, 25," said Takahiro. He wasn't even trying to strategize. _

_She grinned triumphantly. She had this in the bag. "26!"_

_He had no idea why she was grinning so widely, but knew that this meant nothing good for him. "27…28…29…" He stopped, thinking he had won, but then he deflated. She had won. "You're cheating!" he declared._

_Her grin grew ever wider. "30."_

_He grimaced. "This isn't fair!"_

_"__Say it," Sumireko sang._

_"__31!" Takahiro spat, pretending to be mad. Secretly, he was resigned to the whole thing. She had always beaten him in brains. "Ya happy?"_

_"__Yup!" she chirped. "Let's play again, only since there's only two of us, let's change it to 21!"_

_Takahiro shrugged. "Yeah, fine." His eyes gleamed. "I'll beat you this time."_

_Sumireko smirked. He would never figure out the little tricks to the game. "1, 2, 3," she began._

_"__4, 5…6," said Takahiro. He was being more careful now._

_"__7, 8, 9."_

_"__10, 11, 12."_

_"__13," said Sumireko. _

_"__14, 15."_

_She almost laughed out loud. He could have won right then and there, but he had let her win! "16!"_

_"__17…18…" Takahiro broke off, having figured out what would happen. "You cheater!"_

_"__19, 20," sang Sumireko. She grinned. "Wanna try again?"_

_Takahiro knew he would lose, but he couldn't stop himself from accepting the challenge. "Bring it on. I'll win this time!"_

_Five games later, Sumireko remained the undefeated victor. _

_"__21," ground out Takahiro. _

_She giggled. "Here, I won't ask to play again. I'm done now." She held up the sash. Her face fell a bit. "It's not really good."_

_Forgetting all his losses, he took the sash and turned it over and over. "What did you do to it?"_

_Sumireko snorted. "Near the end, dummy." Honestly, did the boy have no brains? Hadn't he seen her working on the tip of the sash? _

_He grinned sheepishly. "I knew that." He grabbed the end. It was the wrong one. He grabbed the other end. His fingers brushed a bump. "Huh?"_

_It was a small violet, a somewhat crooked representation of one. It was the size of his thumbnail, and it decorated the very corner of the sash. He was speechless._

_Sumireko's eyes dropped to her lap. "I know it's not very good," she said. "And its petals are uneven and lopsided. But…"_

_Takahiro grabbed her shoulders. "Are you kidding me? This is great! Well, I sorta wish it wasn't a flower, because it's too __**girly**__, you know. But it's still brilliant! Before, this could have belonged to anyone! But now, you know for sure that it's mine."_

_"__You like it?" The six-year-old girl smiled tentatively. _

_"__Yeah! Only, now I have to make sure to beat up anyone who tries to tease me over it, you know, because it's a flower."_

He's a guy alright, _thought Sumireko._

-oOo-

Kagome yelled in frustration and swipe Taka across the dummy's midsection. The stuffing exploded out of the gash, and sprayed out on the dirt.

Imagining an icily handsome face on the dummy's blank head, she felt a surge of satisfaction. _Yeah. Gut him like a fish!_

With Tsuru, she hacked off the dummy's head, while Taka impaled the torn torso. Narrowing her eyes, Kagome focused her returning reiki into one hand.

"_Handan no shinseina te!_" _sacred hand of judgement_

She crushed the dummy mercilessly. When at last she allowed the sacred hand to rest, strands of straw fluttered desolately in the air before crumbling into dust. Sweat beaded her brow; it had been too soon to use the sacred hand.

_Rrgh!_

Breathing heavily, Kagome swept the watching soldiers with a freezing glare, and they tripped over their own feet to look like they were going about doing their ordinary work. Miko she may be, but she could still scent their fear like any youkai. If any of them put the teeniest bit of their toe across the line, she would make them pay. In blood.

Why couldn't she best Sesshomaru? Was she weak? How could she improve?

"G-g-g-general!"

Damn, it was that stupid stuttering messenger. She did _not _want to deal with his nerves. "What is it? Make it quick. I'm _not _in the best of moods right now."

He gulped and held out a letter with a trembling hand. "A m-message… for y-uou, G-general." He looked even more terrified than he had when she saw him last. She snorted scornfully.

She snatched the paper from his hand, taking a dark pleasure in his flinch, and frowned when she saw the symbol etched in blood on the outside. This was one of many secret marks used by the army to determine the importance and general signal of the message. This was the symbol used for life-threatening urgency. If this was a joke, she would hunt down the fool who wrote it and slap him to the mainland.

She unfolded the paper, and slowly her scowl vanished, to be replaced by a look of sheer horror.

"No," she whispered. "_No!_"

* * *

**Hehehe, a dramatic ending! So, about the little snippets at the beginning of the chapter, you should have noticed a _very_ interesting thing about them! Hehehe... Anyhoo, what do you reckon is in those things? *waggles eyebrows suggestively***

**Ooh, and I actually drew a fanart of this fic! You should totally check it out! The link is on my profile: FFnet Docs won't let me post it on this chapter. Oh, and it's the new coverart of this fic! So yeah X)**


	10. At Your Side Forever and Ever

**CH 10**

She couldn't feel her fingers. She couldn't feel anything. All the color had drained from the world. Kagome stared vacantly at the letter, heart beating as quickly as a bird's.

_Sister,_

_I write with shaky hand in a jail cell. I have been uncovered, and I am imprisoned in jail in the city whilst they rule my sentence. They say it is to take only a week. Only a week in which to make an attempt to escape; but alas, the security is excellent. From the jury, there will be no mercy, I hear. I fear this is the end of the road for me, dear sister, after everything we have faced together. You may never hear from me again, but kami willing, let it be so._

_Thinking of you,_

_-S_

Goddamn her brother. Thrice-bedamn him, the fool! He had dug himself into his grave, she knew that. As a spy, he risked his life even more than the average soldier. But she still couldn't leave him to die, not after— -

Kagome crumpled up the paper in her fist, her eyes stinging. Dammit, how could he do this, be so careless, after everything that they had gone through? Why, dammit? Why?

She was dimly aware of the soldiers watching her nervously, but she couldn't give a damn. What did it matter what they thought when her blood brother was on the other side of the border, his neck poised under the guillotine, perhaps literally right this moment? Or… Who knew how long ago this letter had been sent? Perhaps he rested under a sheet of soil even now.

No, she would not think about that. She had to keep hoping, praying, that her little brother would come back to her safe and sound. She had to stare eastward every day, wondering if breath still graced his lips, if blood still ran hot through his veins.

Or she could do something about it.

Kagome reached up and touched her fingers to the hilt of Taka. Maybe, just maybe, she could pull it off. She could go to the East and save her brother. Where was he? A city jail, not the palace dungeons. Perhaps there was still hope.

_Souta…_

Kagome tucked the letter inside her collar and whirled on her heel. There was no time to lose.

_Hang in there, Souta!_

-oOo-

Sesshomaru was having trouble with the cocky wolves of the North. How thick could one's skull get, he wondered. Why couldn't those idiots understand that they were better off allied to the West than the East?

_Aw, I dunno, old chap,_ Kouga said in his latest letter. _I'd much prefer not to risk the necks of my pack in a dogs' war. We wolves are above such things, see. Y'know, family spats. We actually value pack._

If he hadn't been in a war, Sesshomaru would have been tempted to travel to the East to personally see to the disposal of the mange-bag. And he still was, but he controlled himself. How dare the wolf accuse him of not valuing pack? He simply did not consider the half-breed as part of his family.

Sesshomaru pictured the smirking face of the Cardinal Lord, and annoyance rushed through him at the image. His claws itched to plunge through the fleabag's chest, paint his brown fur with blood. He raised his hand, brush poised, ready to send back a reply that could not possibly contain all of his scorn.

The ink-stained tip wavered as a knock, loud and hurried, reached his ears through the thick wood of his study doors. He took a deep breath. It was the General. What could she want? It had only been an hour or so since their battle; he did not think she would be so eager to see his face any time soon.

"Enter," he called.

Higurashi entered, jaw clenched, shoulders tense. He eyed her warily. What did she want?

"My lord," she said tightly. "I ask permission for emergency leave."

He was startled, but he did not show it. Was she so put off by her defeat that she wanted a leave? No, the General was not the type to sulk. She was like a thunder storm; in one big flash, all the worst was over. She did not brood and snivel like so many demonesses.

When he did not answer immediately, Kagome pursed her lips. She knew it would be hard getting him to let her leave, but then she was only a _comrade_, so he should be able to release her from duty temporarily. "I ask permission for emergency leave," she repeated.

Sesshomaru frowned. "Explain the circumstances," he said. Her eyes dropped to the floor.

"It's a family emergency."

The taiyoukai raised an eyebrow. "Elaborate."

Kagome could not see a way to avoid this any longer, but she had to try. "Please, my lord," she said, staring resolutely at the cream carpet. "Permission for emergency leave."

"Permission not granted till further information is disclosed," he replied. He could sense this was a topic she wanted to avoid, but he couldn't let his General traipse off to who knows where without knowing the where, why, who, what, and when of the situation.

Heart twisting, she reached into her collar and withdrew the letter. She tossed it on his desk. His eyebrow rose further at this show of disrespect, but he did not say anything on the matter. He picked up the slip of paper and unfolded it. Kagome watched his face, watched his golden irises dart back and forth along the paper as he read its contents.

After what seemed to be an eternity, he set down the letter and fixed her with a piercing stare. "General Higurashi, permission for emergency leave not granted."

She had known this would be coming. "My lord," she began, but he interrupted her.

"I cannot allow my General to take such a risk," he said. "There is no way to know exactly when this letter was sent. Therefore, you are taking a great risk to your safety of being, all for a single piece of paper, the reliability of which is not very stable."

"What are you trying to say? That this is a fake? Why won't you take me seriously?" she cried, snatching the paper from his desk. "This is Souta's writing. I am his sister. I would know such things!"

"What are the chances he would have managed to sneak out a letter? The information he had could have been false, fed to him so that he could report to you," Sesshomaru reasoned. "Or he could have been forced to write this letter. Or- -"

"Lord Sesshomaru," growled Kagome. "Listen to me…_please. _Whether this information is false or misguided or forced or _what_, I cannot sit back and allow my little brother to be executed. It is for our sakes that he risked his life, and we must return the favor by at least attempting to save him!"

"General," snapped Sesshomaru. "Listen to _me. _There is a very small chance that this information is true. Even if it _was_, we still have no idea whether he still lives or not. There is a _miniscule _chance that this information is correct, _and_ he is still alive, _and _you manage to find him and accompany him to safety. And I will not stake the life of the General of my soldiers on such a tiny chance."

"Please, my lord," Kagome ground out. "I must do this. If there is even that small a chance to save my brother… I will take it."

"No, General. I cannot allow you to risk your life on such a venture."

Kagome's lips pulled back in a snarl. "Who are you to control my comings and goings so?"

Sesshomaru's eyes flashed like two disks of the sun. "I am your liege lord. You pledged your loyalty and service to me."

Her eyes narrowed. "Then," she said, frost edging her words with a deadly edge, "I will remove myself from my service to you. If that is what must happen, it will be so."

Sesshomaru couldn't believe what she was saying. "General, you are hysterical," he said firmly. "Retire to your chambers, and we will speak of this again in the morning, after you have rested."

"Souta doesn't _have_ a day," she hissed. "There is no time to lose! I must leave immediately."

He glared at her; she returned the gesture. "I forbid you to leave the grounds."

"News flash," sneered Kagome. "You have no control over me anymore." Her hand reached up to touch the crescent moon emblem on her chest. Her fingers curled around the brooch, ready to tear it off.

Sesshomaru was on his feet in a flash, across the room in less than half a second. He grabbed her wrists, held them down at her sides. Their eyes met, ember-golden and frigid blue. So much passed through the connection; pain, grief, and anger. It seemed to be forever before either of them dared to partake of the air.

"Just let me go," muttered Kagome. She felt so lost in his eyes. She wanted to tear her eyes away from his, but he had her mesmerized.

He slowly released her wrists; she made no movement. Sesshomaru reached out and traced a finger down the curve of Kagome's jaw. She fought back a shiver, and it wasn't one of chill. "General," he murmured, and he stressed the word ever so slightly, as if to remind her that she still belonged to him. "Stay."

She felt like they were spinning in space, locked together by their gazes. The horror of her brother's situation faded away, leaving only a fog of want. "I'll never leave you," she promised, barely hearing herself through the haze of _nothing_ that encompassed everything. "I'll be at your side, forever and ever." No sooner than had she finished speaking, pain lanced through her heart, and a spear of ice broke through the fog. The memories, they were coming back, crawling over her mind, trying to chain her down with their shackles of misery.

Kagome backed away, hand shielding her eyes, as if from a bright light. Nausea rose inside as she struggled to fight the demons of her past.

Sesshomaru was confused. Everything had been so right, so _perfect_, then everything had fallen away.

"What is it?" he asked as Higurashi backed into the corner, covering her face with her hands. She slid down the wall, her bottom making contact with the carpet. She shook her head.

Kagome managed to shove down the memories, push aside the pain. But the magic of the moment had evaporated, and it was too late to rekindle the spark. "I'm sorry."

"What for?" Sesshomaru grasped her arms, pulled them down away from her face. He lifted up her chin, forcing her gaze to his. "There is nothing to apologize for."

"I'm…. so weak."

He shook his head. "No, you are not weak, General. You are the strongest human I have ever met, physically, mentally, and spiritually."

Kagome shifted her gaze to the side, wanting to look anywhere but those supernova-bright irises. "But I keep losing to myself. I keep succumbing to these memories."

"I can help you there." Sesshomaru slipped his hand into hers and pulled her up. "This one can help you with your past. I am here for you." His mouth twisted. "Be here for me."

Kagome shook her head. "No… Not yet, anyways. First, I have to help my brother." She searched his gaze, pleading with hers. "Please, Sesshomaru-sa— -"

"I understand," he said softly. "For you, blood runs so much thicker than water. He is the blood… and I, am I the water?"

Kagome shook her head. "No. You are so much than water. And I…" She lifted her chin, met his gaze squarely, forcing herself not to shake. This was a second chance. "For you… Am I the water, or the blood?"

He brought his face closer to hers, so much closer. Their noses brushed. Nothing in all the world could have caused either one of them to break eye contact at that moment. "Kagome…" he breathed softly. "You are so, so much more than either."

She stared at him. There was such gentleness on his face, tenderness. He looked… almost vulnerable. Kagome closed her eyes. This felt so _right._

Sesshomaru knew what had to come next, and obliged very willingly. He bent his head down, cradling the back of her head with his hands. Their lips touched.

Kagome gasped against his lips. They were soft, yet so firm. And he tasted like pure sunlight, warmth seeping into her through the contact. Damn, it felt so good.

Nothing had ever felt so right for Sesshomaru. She tasted of starlight, lucid and clear, and so, so addicting. He explored every last of her mouth with his tongue, tracing each tooth. Her arms wound around his neck, pulling him closer.

Kagome was in a daze of bliss. _This is long overdue_, she thought hazily. She traced his fangs with her tongue. They were so sharp. It felt so strange, feeling what she had only seen for years; it was familiar, yet not. She lost herself in the ecstasy, running her fingers through Sesshomaru's long, silken locks. They were so soft. How did he keep it so tidy? Her hair was always getting tangled up. She opened her eyes a crack. His eyes were closed. She saw the magenta stripes on his eyelids. Were they markings or eyeliner? She had always wondered. Her eyes slid shut again. Was this how the sun tasted? Fiery hot, at the same time sweet?

The doors opened with a crash, and the perpetually-stuttering messenger stumbled in. His eyes bulged at the scene which awaited him.

Kagome and Sesshomaru broke apart and glared in unison at the intruder.

The poor messenger was quaking in his shoes. Both the General _and_ the Lord were glaring at him…. And what in holy heavens had he walked in on?

"L-lord S-S-S-Sesshomaru," he squeaked. "A-and G-g-g-g-general— -" He got no further.

"Out," snarled Sesshomaru. "Lest you wish your head to be parted from your body. Painfully."

The messenger gulped. The message could wait, he supposed. He fled. He was a long way down the hallway by the time the doors closed on the couple, who had continued their activity with enthusiasm.


	11. Honey

**A bit of a short chappy, compared to the previous one, but still loaded! Have you guessed who Sumireko and Takahiro are? **

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CH 11

_Takahiro frowned at Sumireko. "How come your brother's not coming along with us?"_

_She rolled her eyes. "He's too little. Besides, he cries at the slightest touch. I can't stand it." She ran down the village road, then stopped and looked back. "What's wrong with you?"_

_He hesitated. "He's your brother. That should count for something."_

_She snorted. "You'd be all too glad to ditch him if you had to spend as much time with him as I do. I don't know how Mama and Jii-chan cope with it full-time."_

_He shrugged, giving up the matter. He had no brothers, so he had no idea on the perils of having a young pest clinging to him 24/7. "I guess it's a good thing, though. Since he's younger than us, he'd probably wimp out at the first sting."_

_"__Yeah." Kagome waved her stick in the air, fancying for a moment that it could drag great swaths of white from the clouds high above. "He'd probably tattle on us or something if he knew what we were doing, the brat."_

_Takahiro nodded. "Do you have the cloth?"_

_"__Yup," she said proudly, holding up several bundles of fabric. "How could I forget?" She started running again, and this time, Takahiro was right at her heels. The two followed the road for two bends, then abandoned it in favor of the thick woods on one side. _

_"__It was over here, right? That tree looks familiar."_

_"__Yeah, I remember looking at how crooked it was." _

_"__The trail we left last time is starting to disappear," said Sumireko, picking her way carefully through the thick undergrowth._

_"__Uh-huh. Do you reckon we'll be able to find the tree again?"_

_"__Of course," she replied, looking up to squint at the foliage. "We'd be able to see the bees buzzing."_

_"__If you say so." _

_After almost an hour of searching, they found the tree. It was by sheer luck; Sumireko, passing underneath, had happened to look up at just the right moment to catch a glimpse of the beehive nestled high in the branches. _

_"__There it is!" she said excitedly. "Okay, so I'll do my thing…" She unwrapped several of the cloth bundles, wrapping the broad strips of fabric around her face and neck. He did the same. Sufficiently bundled up, she scaled a neighboring tree with all the ease of a monkey, grasping her stick in her teeth. She inched out on a branch that brushed against the limb that held the beehive. "Catch!" She tossed down the last bundle of cloth to Takahiro, who was waiting directly below the hive. He caught it and peered anxiously up at her. _

_"__Be careful, alright? I dunno, maybe you should get down. I could do it."_

_"__You fool," came the high-pitched voice. "You're too heavy! It's gotta be me!"_

_"__Well, don't get yourself covered all over with stings, okay? Your mother would sue me if you died, and I'm running low on money." Grinning, he set to unwrapping the bundle, which unfurled to be a large square of coarse cloth._

_"__Whatever!" She directed her attention away from her companion and concentrated on inching out further, stretching out her stick. She waved it, trying to prod at the beehive. "Ow!" One of them had stung her arm. She made it out another couple of inches. Another prod. The beehive budged, just a little. Another bee got her. Sumireko gritted her teeth and scooted out a little further. _

_Another sting. Then another._

_"__Ow!" she cried, and swatted at the hive with her stick. Was it just her, or did a crack appear, separating part of the bottom from the rest? She whacked it again, ignoring the stinging pain in her exposed arm. There was a sticky squelch, and the crack grew wider. _

_The bees were angry. They surged out, looking for the culprit. Some of them targeted Takahiro below, but most of them went for the girl, stinging every part of her that wasn't shielded by her clothes. _

_Sumireko whimpered, but continued her assault on the beehive. At last, with one last solid smack, a section of it tore away, dropping down. Takahiro was quick to catch it with the large square of cloth, wrapping it up as best as he could. _

_"__Come on down now!" he yelled. _

_Sumireko flung the stick away, too much in pain to go to the trouble of placing it between her teeth again. She scooted backwards as fast as she could, swatting at the bees with her wrapped-up hands. "What are you waiting for, Takahiro?" she screamed, shaking her head as fast as she could to keep the bees from getting inside her mouth. "Run, get out of here! I'll follow!"_

_"__I'm not leaving you!" _

_"__Are you stupid? Leave me!" At last reaching the main part of the tree, she fumbled down, but it was much harder getting down than up, and it was made that much more difficult by the bees clouding around her._

_"__No!" _

_Takahiro ran to her aid, helping her down the last couple of yards, keeping the bees at bay to the best of his ability with his stick. Grabbing her hand, he led the way away from the tree. "The river, it's nearby!" he yelled desperately. "We have to get there quick!"_

_"__You can get there faster without me!" Sumireko cried. _

_"__I'm not gonna run off on my own, stupid!" he shouted. "You'll never find it on your own!"_

_"__You're gonna die unless you go now!" she screamed, waving her free arm around to try to fend off the swarm of angry, striped insects._

_"__Yeah? You're the one who's gonna die if I leave you! So just be quiet and try to look for water!" _

_It took them a couple painful minutes, but in their desperation, they found the river. Luckily, it was close to the bee tree. The two miscreants dashed into the cool water, completely submerging themselves. It was to their fortune that the river was slow-moving at that time; they could have been swept away, but as it was, they managed to stay in one place. _

_Surfacing only to take great gulps of air before plunging back down, Sumireko and Takahiro stayed in the water until the bees gave up and returned to their tree. Slowly, they emerged from the water, clothes soaking wet. Breathing hard, they dragged themselves to shore, where they lay like beached whales. _

_"__You got the honey?" she whispered. _

_"__I threw it into some bushes before we dove into the water," he replied. "Didn't wanna get it wet." _

_"__So where is it now?" _

_He groaned. "Come on, Sumi. Can't we rest awhile?" _

_She forced herself to stand up on shaky knees. "No. We need to get back home as quickly as possible so that Lady Hitomiko can look at us." _

_He made a sound of long-suffering agony, but he too managed to get up. "It was somewhere over here," he muttered, poking around some bushes. "Ha! Here, you happy?" He held up the bundle of cloth that held part of the hive triumphantly. _

_"__Actually, not," Sumireko grumbled. "Let's just get home."_

_They set off for their village, trying to ignore the pain in their bodies. Finally, she spoke. "Why didn't you just leave me by myself? You could have found the river a lot sooner."_

_He shrugged, teal irises upturned to catch the sun. "Because we were partners in crime, and partners don't abandon each other. And besides," he said, casting a sideways glance at his friend. "I couldn't just leave you. The bee thing was partly my idea. I'm honorable," he added, puffing out his chest with a wince. _

_She giggled. "Okay then, Honorable-sama. So you wouldn't ever leave me?" _

_He grinned cockily. "'Course not. I told you, we're partners in crime. We stand side by side."_

_Sumireko smiled, reaching out to sling her arm around Takahiro's shoulders. "Stay with me, Takahiro. Forever and ever."_

_He glanced at her, warmth in his eyes. "I'll stay with you," he said. "What about you?"_

_Her blue eyes shining, she promised, "I'll be at your side, forever and ever."_

-oOo-

Kagome stared at the long shadow stretched out before her. It looked extra tall, with her on a horse, and the sun setting at her back. She swallowed hard. She was actually leaving the West for the East. She knew that she wasn't switching sides, kami forbid. But it still felt strange. She sighed, slumping in her saddle.

She was dressed in civilian clothes, a regular day-to-day yukata. She hadn't worn one of _those_ for over ten years. The way it restricted her leg movement made her want to rip slits down the sides of the skirt so that she could fight a decent fight. But that would be a dead giveaway. She was supposed to be a human refugee fleeing the West. They weren't all that uncommon.

When the Dog General had passed away, he had hold over both the West and East. The West was home to many demons and little humans, and the opposite was true for the East. When he did, he left the Tenseiga and the Western lands to Sesshomaru and the Tetsusaiga and the Eastern lands to Inuyasha. The hanyou couldn't even make the sword work, however, and firmly convinced he could, Sesshomaru sent an envoy to his sister land, calling for the demon sword to be sent to the West. They were sent back, bearing stout refusal. After several ignored warnings, tensions between the lands, which were already stretched, heightened. With such little drastically opposite populations, understanding and cooperation fell. Without a single lord ruling over the lands, and instead with two brothers who had never gotten along in the first place, war was inevitable.

Because most of the demons under rule of the House of the Moon lived in the West, the majority of the youkai fought on Sesshomaru's side, along with a small portion of humans. The East held a much larger number of humans, and they fought for Inuyasha. They knew of Sesshomaru's reputation as a cold-hearted, iron-fisted ruler, and they thought the lesser of the two evils was rough, loose-tongued Inuyasha, and that he would handle the power of the sword better. Go figure. Do you want a killing perfection wielding the Tetsusaiga as if he were an artist and it was a paintbrush, or a mannerless, loudmouthed hanyou running around, swinging it around?

Although the vast majority of the youkai were on Sesshomaru's side, some had family feuds or other bitterness against him, and they sided with Inuyasha. Karan of the Panther Deva Tribe fell into that category; she and her cat clan had held a grudge against the House of the Moon for eons. They weren't overly fond of Inuyasha, either, but then again; the lesser of the two evils.

As the war ensued, the enmity against the humans still living in the West increased, and seeking to flee the abuse, most of their number fled to the East, where they were welcomed with open arms.

Kagome was pretending to be one of that number. Her story was that her husband had joined the Western Army, and then been executed for suspicion of treason. This was not uncommon, so they would believe her when she told them that in her anger and sorrow, she had come to East.

Kagome smiled bitterly. It had been a very long time since she had lived among the common people. For most of her life, she had been with the military, training her butt off and honing her powers. Maybe she wouldn't know how to interact properly with normal people.

But what did it matter? As long as she saved Souta, everything would be fine.


	12. Missing Out on the Fun

**Hey guys! Guess what? New story! Wheee! It's called Covenant, and you guys should totally check it out! It's about how Kagome and Sesshomaru are on opposing sides of a war (complete flip-around from THIS story) and to end the war, they're forced to marry by their parents, who are the leaders of the sides. And yeah, they hate each other, so... hahaha! Anyways, just... Do me a favor? Por favor? And look at it? *bats eyelashes***

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CH 12

The reassuring weights of her katana on her back were gone. They had been wrapped up in soiled cloth and disguised to look like day-to-day, typical weapons for a commoner. They hung at her horse's side, which Kagome thought was idiotic. Why did women have to tie their weapons to their horses? Who cared about comfort? You would get used to it with time, and it would save your life. You wouldn't be complaining about sores on your back if you were six feet under. Or turned to ashes.

She shuddered. That thought was just too painful. She turned her mind to the problem of strategy. How would she manage to sneak into the jail? Well, no. Getting in would be the easy part. It would be the getting _out_, with an extra person attached, that would be difficult. Especially if said person was in no condition to travel, due to torture. Kagome stared ahead. She didn't want to think about this. There was enough she had to live with, thanks to… ah, just forget it.

The steady rhythm of the horse beneath her was relaxing. It was so well trained, it responded to the barest touches. With steering in the bag, Kagome turned her mind to things that would keep it occupied in a less painful manner.

_Okay, think, Kagome. If there are only fifty soldiers in your company, and you find yourself surrounded by two hundred enemy soldiers, what do you do? Oh, and just for fun, let's say that your fighting levels are the same, more or less._

_Well, to think about it, you're outnumbered one to four. So you **will **find yourself on your knees, sooner or later. You need some other edge. Like, say… _

-oOo-

_Sumireko used her sugary voice; the one she used especially for tricky conversations. "Mom," she sang. _

_Her mother looked up. Whenever her daughter used that voice, it boded no good. "What is it, dear?"_

_"Can I go to the market?"_

_Her mother frowned. "By yourself?" _

_Sumireko nodded, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. "Yeah. It's my birthday, so... I want to buy fabric of my own choice for my new yukata. The ones you choose are great, but…" She gestured to her creamy yellow yukata. "You know."_

_Her mother sighed. "Which town?"_

_"Well, there are two right now, said this man who rode through last evening," supplied Sumireko. "So I can choose from them. And they're in nearby towns; Ochiromizu and Aoihanabira. I could go and be back way before dusk."_

_Her mother considered it, then nodded. "Alright. But take your little brother with you. It would be his first time going to the market. He might as well see it now."_

_"Moooom," she complained. "He's a crybaby, and he whines all the time! He would make me carry him all the way there and back!"_

_"Sumireko," said her mother sternly. "Please." She reached for a cache in the wall and brought out a box. Opening it, she tipped some coins carefully into a purse and handed it to her daughter. "And don't take Takahiro with you. He probably has chores has home. And you two spend enough time together anyways."_

_This wasn't fair. Instead of going with an actual friend, she had to let her annoying, sniffling little brother tag along? _

_"Fine," ground out Sumireko. But inside, she was bubbling with happiness. She was seven years old now. She was a big girl!  
_

_-_oOo_-_

_"What? Why me?" Takahiro protested. _

_His mother leveled a steely glare at him. "I have a lot of chores to do, and I don't have time to get to the market to buy the goods. It's only open for a few days, and then it will move on to another town. So do go. My needle bent, and it's useless now. I need another one. Not to mention thread. What with all the time you spend with that girl, I'm up to my knees with mending." She held up the blue sash she was mending for emphasis. _

_He growled out a sigh. "Yeah, fine." He accepted the money less than graciously. "I'll go with Sumireko." _

_His mother narrowed her eyes. "Oh no you won't! Whenever you two are together, you cause trouble, and you forget your duties and tasks! You'll go by yourself."_

_Takahiro's face twisted into a grimace. "But- -"_

_"No but's, now go."_

_"Which market, though? Ochiromizu or Aoihanabira?"_

_"I don't care."_

_Scowling, he hurried to his room, taking time to tie the red and white sashes Sumireko had given him around his waist. His mother was mending a tear in the blue one. If she couldn't go with him, he could still take a little bit of her with him. He dashed out the door. He'd run all the way to Ochiromizu and be back before Sumireko would miss him. He could probably do it. The way to Ochiromizu was further than the one to Aoihanabira, but the terrain was more level, and took less time. He wouldn't tell her where he was going; she would probably be hurt that he was going without her, and that his mother didn't like her. _

_Takahiro ran down the road, shielding his eyes from the sun with an angled hand._

_-_oOo-

_Which market would she go to? Her own village was too small to hold such a large number of people and goods, but there were two towns nearby, one to the east, the other to the west, whose markets opened that day. Which one would be the more convenient?_

_The west, Sumireko decided. It was a tad bit closer, plus it came from the part of the land where more youkai lived, so the quality of their items tended to be better. Spider youkai made excellent fabric, but it was a bit expensive. But the cloth was stronger too, and it would last longer than human-spun cloth. _

_Aoihanabira it was._

-oOo-

Kagome leaned back in her saddle. Her butt was getting cramped. She had been trained to deal with riding a horse for an extended period of time, but she had been riding hard for days, stopping only to let the horse rest, and to take care of bodily functions. She couldn't take her time, not now that so much was at stake.

_God, Souta, why couldn't you have been more careful? _

She shifted in her seat. Her butt was probably covered in sores. Sure felt like it. Just then, the horse leapt over a dip in the road, and the impact jolted her spine. Kagome gritted her teeth. Dammit, she couldn't take much more of this. She wasn't trained to be cavalry, and neither was her butt. How much further was the border?

Kagome sighed. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if only she was wearing her uniform. It was designed to help a little with hard riding, unlike this peasant yukata. The only part of her uniform she was sporting was one of her sashes. While every soldier in the Western Army was supplied with a yellow sash with certain blue designs that indicated their rank, she alone wore the two colors separately; two sashes, one yellow, the other blue.

When she had first been accepted into the army, she had worn the standard new-recruit sash; yellow with a thin, single-threaded blue edge to the ends. And then, as she progressed through the ranks and became the General, she had rejected the sash design that came with the job, and started wearing two sashes paired together. At first, it had stirred some whispers of treachery, but she had stomped on those voices with viciousness, and they had ceased. Ever since then, she had worn her two sashes.

Kagome lifted a hand from the reins and raised it to her eyes, shielding them from the sun. If her knowledge of the lay of the land served her correctly, the border to the East was very near. Less than an hour of riding to go.

She lowered her hand to stroke the flank of her horse. It had been running hard for several days with little rest. It had been a faithful beast, and intelligent too. Kagome planned to entrust it in someone else's care while she rescued Souta from prison, then ride it back to the West. The problem was finding someone she could trust. She was in enemy territory after all.

Kagome yawned and slumped down. She felt so _dirty. _She had only packed necessities for the trip, so no brush, no cleansing supplies. A quick dip in any convenient source of water from time to time served as her only refreshing cleansing method. Compared to the luxurious, daily hot baths she had back in the Western palace, she was living the low life. She could practically feel the five-inch layer of grime on her skin, and she hated it. She rubbed at her arm absently and scowled.

_Once Souta is safe and sound, and you're back in the safety of the West, you can take as long a bath as you want, _she consoled herself.

-oOo-

Kagome stared at the ground. "He… he enlisted in the army," she said softly, biting back tears. "And then he was accused of treachery and… and…" She buried her face in her hands.

The men guarding the border had probably heard millions of versions of this story, but they still looked like they didn't know what to do.

"Ma'am, please stop crying," said one of the guys awkwardly, reaching out, as if he wanted to pat her shoulder. "You'll be all right now."

"Th-thank you," Kagome sniffled. "It—it's just that… Oh, it's just that… My son didn't survive the journey. He was only…" Here, she broke into sobs. "He was only four!" Not-so-deep inside, she was sniggering at how easy it was to fake cry. But on the outside, she was a heartbroken widow who had lost it all.

The men exchanged helpless glances. "Please, ma'am," said the other guy. He handed her a piece of cloth, which she used to wipe her eyes. She didn't _want_ Eastern soldier snot on her face, but she had to keep up the façade.

"Thank you," she said thickly. "I—It's just been so hard…" She laughed shakily through her tears. "Oh, I'm so sorry. I'm being such a crybaby. I should go now."

"It's okay," said the soldier awkwardly, scratching the back of his head. "I guess this is bye, ma'am."

"Yes, I guess so. Bye."

"Bye." The soldiers waved at her forlornly, and she waved back sadly.

As soon as she was around the curve in the road, Kagome dropped her act and smiled broadly. _That was easy, _she thought. Then her mood darkened. _The easy part was getting in. The hard part will be getting out._

-oOo-

_Sumireko smiled happily at the bundle of cloth in her arms. It was white with patches of blue that would complement her eyes just so. Mom would make a beautiful yukata. With the dark, inky blue sash she had also bought, she would actually like looking at her reflection, at least until she got tired of the new look anyways. Blue was always better than that ugly barf-yellow or putrid girly pink that her mother always chose. Moms were okay, but sometimes their fashion sense was just **not.  
**__Well, her other yukata was green and white, but it had been torn beyond repair during one of her and Takahiro's adventures._

_"Come on, little brother," she sang. She was in a good mood, with her new clothes-to-be. Her little brother trotted along by her side, eyes bright. She had bought him a little cake from a sweets stand, and sugar still ringed his grinning mouth. "Let's go home, Souta."_

_The packed dirt of the road felt soft to the hardened soles of her feet. Sumireko smiled and danced along the path, still clutching her treasure. Even having to drag along her little brother didn't dampen her mood. Life was just too good. She felt like singing. She glanced at her brother._

_"Well no one's around to here but him… and he's already heard me sing, so…" With that thought, she burst into song. "In an abandoned building forever in the shade / At the end of the lifeless corridor / Is a room, inside which / Some forsaken children dwell…" _

_Her little brother joined in the singing, but she couldn't bring herself to care. She simply drowned out his voice with her own. "We have been waiting forever / For your arrival…"_

_She broke into a skip, not caring that she was leaving her brother behind with her long strides. She laughed and stopped singing. "Oh Souta, isn't life swell?"_

_"Thu-mi-ka!" he burbled, eyes shining with adoration. They shifted upwards. "Lukk ah tha' skah!"_

_Sumireko had learned baby language as part of the Big Sister course. "Look at the sky?" she repeated, head tilted to the side. She gazed at the blue, and her eyes widened. There were columns of gray rising in the sky, and weaving in and out of the smoke were black shapes. **Birds,** she noted. "But… That's **our **village," she said aloud, confused. "What's all that stuff doing up there?" The smoke was steadily growing taller and larger until it seemed to block out all the blue of the sky, replacing it with its dreary gray. "Are they burning up the leaves? We do that sometimes… But they must be burning the whole forest, or something!"_

_She frowned, pouting. She loved fire; she loved the way it danced on the wood and bent with every breath of wind. **I can't believe they did the burning without me, **she thought crossly. Sumireko started running. She didn't want to miss out on the fun._

-oOo-

**_Whoa whoa whoa! Did you guys catch that? If you didn't, READ IT AGAIN! And if you did... Lovely! Ooh, what do you think is happening in the village? Hahaha! Sort of a spooky last sentence, wasn't it?  
_**

**_This story is my favorite to write, currently. It gives me the least trouble, as a lot of it is planned in my head. The one that gives me the most trouble is A Petal in Murky Waters. I mean, I know what I want to happen, but I don't know HOW to get there... Now, I have absolutely NO idea how Blue-Eyed Songbird is going to progress... That thing's a pet project of mine. I just go with the flow on that one XD And of course, Caged Miko is currently a dead end... But Covenant is coming along pretty well!  
_**

**_So, my pretties, you know how to fuel me through my nighttime writing sessions! Please review, it would really make my day :)_**


	13. Crows, Smoke, and Ashes

**I can't believe this, guys. I'm disappointed in you! I got a lot of reviews asking whether Sesshomaru let her go or she was escaping. Well, I'm just gonna say, go take a look at Ch 10 if you want an answer, because I sure ain't giving you none! Okay, I'm done pretending to be mad. Usually it's me who's the clueless one, so I totally sympathize! So yeah... You rock! Ooh, and btw, first ever 3,000-word chapter! Like, ever! So! Yeah!**

* * *

CH 13

_Sumireko started slowing down, bundle of fabric nestled to her chest, as she neared the village. There was a nasty smell in the air. She knew it smelled when they burned the leaves, but this was different, somehow. There was a strange quality about the smell. She had never smelled anything quite like it before. It smelled a bit like when the villagemen roasted a rabbit or squirrel, but again, different somehow. _

_She drew her sleeve over the bottom half of her face. "You should do the same, Souta." He didn't understand her, so she mimed raising her sleeve to her face. He mimicked her, grinning. _

_"It smells good," he announced. _

_Sumireko forced a smile. There was something not quite right about this, but she had to admit, the smell made her stomach rumble. "Yeah. If they're eating rabbit without us, I'm going to be really mad." And she would be. Any kind of fresh meat at all was something to be treasured. A lot of the bigger villages and towns ate meat more regularly, but they were a small village, with little money to go around._

_Holding her little brother's hand, she walked down the familiar path to her village. Right before she rounded the forest-obscured bend, she hesitated. There was something inside her heart that urged her to run, run and leave everything and everyone behind. She dismissed it with a toss of her head. **Why would I pass up a chance to eat real, fresh meat? **Steeling herself, she stepped around the bend of the road, and froze. The world seemed to slow down, like it was trapped in honey. She processed everything in slow motion. What? What had happened? _

_What had happened to the lush, rich grass that carpeted the fields of her home, the neatness and order of the layout of her village? What had happened to the skies, normally blue as the wings of a dream? _

_For brittle brown stalks poked out of the ground around her village. The roads in her home were trampled, and there were fallen trees blocking the paths. Everything had a dusty look about it. Even the sky was gray, with blots of ink that were crows circling about. Every now and then, something would pop loudly, and there would be a bright orange flash. There was so much smoke, hissing up from the dead grass, where little bits of amber glowed sinisterly, nestled in the brown stalks of its bed. And the ashes… They dusted the trees, the grass, the roads, the houses, everything. And the smell was so much worse. _

_"What happened?" Sumireko whispered, eyes stretched wide. "Is this some kind of joke?" _

_Behind her, Souta started to wail at the sight that awaited him. "Maa-maaaaa!" he screamed. "I want my maaa-maaaaaaaaa!" _

_"Shut up!" she shouted harshly, which only spurred on more screaming. "**SHUT UP!**" she shrieked, and grabbed her little brother's shoulders. She shook him hard. "Shut up **right now!**"_

_He stared at her, lip trembling. At least he had stopped his crying. She backed away and turned around again, to face the village. Where was everyone? She started running again, little brother completely forgotten. She tripped on a huge clod of ash and landed with her face buried in the pale gray stuff. Vision starting to blur, she got up, and started to kick contemptuously at what had tripped her. Her foot stopped midway. Her eyes stretched wider and wider until she thought the skin around them would stretch to pieces. _

_There was a face in the ash._

_Sumireko screamed wildly and backed away from the horrifying sight, her eyes screwed shut. Very slowly, she opened her eyes again. Yes, she hadn't imagined it. There was definitely a nose, lips, and eyes in the ash. And the way they fit together looked familiar… He was one of the older village boys! It was Takeo. Yes, she recognized his large nose and full lips. They were burned and charred almost beyond recognition. The eyes were half-closed, a black liquid seeping out from between the eyelids. White foamed at his lips. But… What had happened? Her eyes shifted from the face to the rest of the ash clod. _

_It wasn't an ash clod._

_Where she had tripped, she had stirred up some of the ash, revealing something bright red and charred-looking. There was a strip of blackened white in there too. She got a good look at it until a crow soared down and pecked in the ash up to the mound of gray. Beady eyes twinkling greedily, it hopped onto the body and started pecking at the red stuff._

_Sumireko screamed. "Stop it, stop it, stop it!" _

_The crow ignored her, only giving her a bland gaze before returning to its meal. It ruffled its inky feathers with a self-satisfied expression. Before long, its gray beak was shining with dark liquid._

_"**STOP IT!**" Sumireko screamed again, and lashed out at the crow. With a caw, it fluttered away to perch on top of a fallen tree trunk. It glared at her. She paid it no mind. Gently, gently, she brushed away some handfuls of ash, belly churning with horrified fascination. More of the red stuff was revealed, and the strange smell grew too intense for her. She backed away. Immediately, three new black birds flew down to peck at the body. Feeling sick, Sumireko ran on. She had to tell the rest of the village. She had to tell her Mama. _

_There was more smoke, more ashes. More crows. _

_She tripped several more times on other large clumps of ash. She didn't stop to think about who could be hiding in there. She just ran on. She had to find Mama. Her mama would make everything okay. She could fix up Takeo. Her mama could do anything!_

_Her eyes scanned the streets desperately. Where was her house? Her feet faltered to a stop. **It should be right here… **But her house wasn't there. There was only a skeleton of wood left, some parts still burning. "What's going on?" _

_Then she saw her._

_Her mother was sprawled on the ground, half in, half out of the ruined doorway to their house. Sumireko frowned. "Mama! Mama!" she called, running to her side. She fell to her knees and shook her mother's shoulders gently. "Wake up! I'm back! Takeo needs your help!"_

_Her mother didn't stir. Her eyes were closed._

_"Mama, this isn't funny!" cried Sumireko. Her eyes felt hot. "Stop pretending to be asleep! I know you're awake!" She noticed that her hands felt uncomfortably wet. She lifted them up and held them in front of her eyes. "Wh-what?" They were soaked in blood. This was very bad. Sumireko had never bled this much at any one time. Her mother might have to lay down for a while before she could get down again. "Are you okay?" _

_Still her mother remained still. _

_"Mama!" she cried. "Your yukata, it's all messed up!" It was down around her mother's shoulders. Her mother was on her stomach, and her back was only half covered. "Were you going to take a bath? To wash off the blood? I can help. Remember how you used to help me take baths? Well, I'm helping you now. Come on, Mama, let's get up. Don't sleep now. Please, wake up!" She was babbling, a flood of words streaming past her lips. "No, no, please, wake up!" She grabbed her mother's shoulders and lifted her up, just enough to hug her. "I can make you okay again, then we can go help Takeo. Where's Jii-chan? Does he have an ouchy too? Maybe I can help all of you!"_

_Still her mother slumped limp in her embrace. Sumireko felt a sob burst past through her throat. "Please get up! You're scaring me!" She buried her face in her mother's neck. It was cold, with only the barest trace of warmth. "Pretty please? I got some really pretty cloth for my yukata! I know you can make it beautiful!"_

_She tried to awake her mother for an hour, trying different tactics. Begging, threatening, apologizing…_

_"I'm sorry I was ever bad!" she cried, hot tears streaming down her cheeks. Why was everything so wrong? "I'll never be bad again. Just… Please wake up! Please, please, please, please…"_

_Her mother was like a porcelain doll, cold and unresponsive. Only, the porcelain dolls smiled. Her mother looked sad. Plus, her mother was still a little warm._

_Finally, Sumireko backed away, laying down her mother's head gently on the dirt. "I'll go find Jii-chan, then I'll be right back," she promised. "You'll get better soon!" _

_She ran into the house. She could see through the walls now. Sumireko ran down the hall, glancing from side to side. There, her grandpa! He was sleeping, too, in his room. Why was everyone so lazy today? Was she the only one awake? She hurried to his side._

_"Jii-chan," she cried. "Wake up! Mama has an ouchy, a really big one! She's sleeping. I tried to wake her, but she's a lazy-bones. She wouldn't get up. Help me wake her up!" _

_She stepped closer, and her breath caught in her throat. There was a large red stain on the back of his kosode. _

_"Do you have an ouchy too?" she asked. She poked at it tentatively. It was stiff, not warm like her mother's ouchy. "Why does everyone have an ouchy? What happened?" Her grandpa didn't answer. "Jii-chan? Jii-chan…? Jii-chan!" _

_He was just like her mother, only he was so much stiffer, and his body was so cold. He didn't wake up either._

_Sumireko was sobbing freely. It was terribly hot in here. Once in a while, an ember would drop from the ceiling and land on the floor. She was quick to stomp it out, but there were so many. "I'll come back," she promised again, wiping her nose. "I need to see if Takahiro's okay."_

_She didn't bother going through the hallways. She simply stepped through the wall. **Now where would his house be? **Normally, she could locate his place with a blindfold on, but everything was so different, gray and brown and orange and red instead of green and blue and tan. She ran down the road. So many people had ouchies! _

_"Higada-san, I'll come back. You too, Yamudai-san. And Gonozawa-san, and Bisohaka-san…"_

_Why was everyone taking a nap? The sun hadn't even set. No one was waking up, either, Sumireko noted. She sidestepped a large clump of ash, looking the other way determinedly. She didn't want to see another face. _

_After what seemed to be an eternity, she made it to Takahiro's house. It looked like her house; a mere skeleton of what it used to be. But it was even more on fire than hers. She could barely see through the walls, for all the flickering flames, licking up the wood. _

_"Takahiro?" she shouted, straining to see past the blazing orange and yellow. "Are you in there? You need to wake up! Do you have an ouchy too?"_

_This was no good; she couldn't see anything. Besides, he was probably sleeping, that sluggy potato. Mind made up, Sumireko braved it into the flames, holding the fabric for her new yukata to her nose. "Takahiro? Takahiro?" she screamed. But there was no reply._

_She stumbled through the rooms, dancing a deadly dance, dodging falling burning planks of wood and embers. "Hey! You lazy slug! Wake up right now!" she ordered, trying to shout as loud as she could; but for all her begging the past hour, her voice was hoarse. "Get up!"_

_She made it to the last room. Still no sleeping lazy slug… And then she saw it. _

_The blue sash._

_Crying again, fresh tears streaming from her stinging eyes, she danced clumsily through the burning floor, coughing. She stooped down and picked up the long length of fabric, which was for some reason soggy, dropping the cloth for her yukata as she did so. She paid it no mind, all her attention trained thoroughly on this article of clothing. She traced the purple flower that adorned the end of the sash with a single finger, momentarily immune to the intense burning of her surroundings. _

_"Something happened, didn't it?" she whispered, seeing the violet blur into a blob of purple as more and more tears came to her eyes. "You wouldn't just leave it like this, Takahiro. What happened? Why is everyone sleeping? Is it an evil sorceress? Did she cast a spell on the village while I was gone? Did she kidnap you because you fought her like I know you would?" She rose to her feet. "**Tell me!**" she screamed. Her voice cracked, and she cried, great wracking sobs that came from deep inside. She fled, breaking through the wall, bare feet burning, clutching the blue sash. "Tell me!"_

_She ran back through the streets, now stopping to inspect every sleeping body, looking for Takahiro. She would yell at him, she decided, for making her worry so much. But no face she gazed at, no body she examined, completed her search. It only deepened the already gaping hole in her heart. All of these people she recognized as friends and family. Her village was a small one, but close-knit. Everyone knew everyone. It made it all the more painful to see them under a curse._

_Sumireko slowed down, panting, chest heaving, as her weary, blackened feet turned on the street toward her home once again. Maybe her mother would be awake._

_She wasn't. And now her body held not even a minute trace of warmth. She felt just like a porcelain doll now. All that was missing was the smile. Sumireko held her mother's face gently and tilted it back. To her astonishment and surprised joy, her mother's eyelids slid back just a little. But her happiness was short-lived. Mama's eyes, a beautiful doe-brown, were glazed, and there was a white film over the chocolate of her irises. Just like rabbits' eyes, after they had been dead a while. The thought occurred to Sumireko hazily. And that was the final straw._

_The little girl crumpled to her knees, burying her face in her hands. Her shoulders shook with the force of her grief. Her young mind had just made the connection._

**_No… It can't be! This has to be a nightmare! This can't be real! Mama can't… She can't…. She can't be… _**

_But now that she had thought of it, she knew it was true. And if her Mama was… Then everyone else was…. Including Takahiro._

_Everyone. _

_Sumireko was alone. _

_As she studied her mother's face desperately, a spark from the burnt grass leapt up from the ground and perched on her mother's clothes, where it immediately took seed and blossomed into a beautiful orange flower that devoured at her clothing, burning mercilessly. Sumireko gasped and batted at the fire frantically, not caring at the bursts of pain in the palms of her hands. But the fire spread, orange and yellow flowers spreading across her mother's body, petals flickering, eating at her flesh. At last Sumireko was forced to back away, eyes stretched wide with horror. She watched as her mother burned like a rabbit, her clothes dissolving into flames first, her flesh blackening, then finally falling away to stark white bone that hurt her young eyes. The fire, hunger still unsatisfied, turned on Sumireko then, long fingers reaching out to her, searing her face with their heat. She fled, tears blurring her eyes, falling to the ground, watering the lifeless soil with her sorrow. __She cried until her eyes were parched dry. She cried until her voice was but a rasp. As she sank down to the earth, ready to lay down her life next to her mother, a voice rang out through the heartless silence._

_"Thu-mi-ka!"_

_Sumireko stopped her descent with her elbows. She had almost forgotten him, but now a spark of light blossomed in the empty darkness of her mind. "Souta?" she whispered._

_Her little brother, her annoying pest of a brother, her **beautiful** little brother, came running to her on ungainly toddler legs. Tear tracks were visible on his face too, his eyes were red too. Sumireko received him with open arms. _

_And the two siblings embraced, two hearts desperately grasping for something familiar, in the middle of a heartless, unfamiliar landscape, that, just that morning, had been familiar. A landscape that been a lush, verdant land… and home._

_Sumireko buried her nose into her brother's hair. Somehow, through the haze of misery, coherent thoughts, **vengeful **thoughts, echoed through her head. _**_I'll make this right, _**_she swore. **I know this didn't just happen. It wasn't just a fire. Someone set the fire, someone killed all of you. And I will find that person, and I will KILL him.**_

* * *

**So... Now Kagome's awful past is revealed! Smashing! So... was this heartrending? Heartripping? Tearbringing? Or naw? Tell me what you think! Anyways, ****I had some news for you guys. I made an Updating Schedule for May. It's like a calendar thingy and it has little bullet points for each story I'm currently working on, and it shows when I'll update them throughout the month. It'll be a helpful guide for you guys, and you guys will know when to anticipate my updates! So, link is on my profile, so you can check it out... And also, can you guys tell me in a review what day of the week you typically get on FFnet to browse the most? Saturday? Wednesday? If you don't have a specific day, you can just say weekends or weekdays. Please help me with this survey XP**

**Oh, and there might be some burning-body-facts that I got wrong, like do humans smell when they burn? I have no idea. I'm using artistic license, capiche? *wags head with a superior air***


	14. The Page

**Hi guys! I know I was gone for a loong time with this story! I thought that I wasn't done with this chapter, but I literally just figured out that this chapter _was_ done, and I was struggling with Chapter _Fifteen_, not Fourteen. So yeah. That's what happens when you write with Microsoft Word and separate the chapters only with a CH #, instead of a blank page or something. Anyways, turns out this was done already! Yay! So here I am, back! I heart you guys!**

* * *

CH 14

Her butt was a mass of throbbing pain.

Kagome was _not _kidding. If she didn't find an inn with a soft bed soon, and she meant _soon_, she was going to have to do some serious healing with her reiki, and she wanted to save all her energy for the jailbreak.

Much to her butt's relief, her horse staggered down the road into the city just as night began to fall. "Finally!" she muttered, shifting in her saddle. Her butt hurt, plus she was sick to death of the rations she had packed with her; bread and water. No variety. Tasteless all the way through. She was in the mood for a stew, hot and steaming.

Kagome assumed the role she was playing; a heartbroken war refugee from the West who had lost it all. Her shoulders drooped, and her eyes shone with unshed tears. There was but a smattering of people in the streets, it being past sunset, and when one happened to glance at her, they quickly averted their eyes. They all had enough sorrow in their own lives. They had no desire to see more. She took advantage of this fact and traveled through the streets of the capital of the East virtually unnoticed. Her horse was exhausted, that much was obvious. She realized that she would have to find an inn soon. If it was one of the better ones, it would have stables where her horse could rest, hopefully until it was time to escape.

She had studied blueprints of the capital city before, when she had been planning guerilla attacks against the East. She had memorized every bit of information that could have been found on there, and she still remembered it. So now, it was just a matter of converting the bird's-eye-view mental snapshot of the map into real life, 3-D and all. It wasn't as easy as it would have sounded, but Kagome managed it, and within an hour found an inn that suited her needs. It was somewhat large, not too flashy, not too slummy, and it had stables. Its most attractive feature was its employees; from what she could see, they were quiet folk who didn't gossip any more than was normal for humans. They would probably keep their mouths shut. Probably.

Patting her pocket to check that she had money (money was not a daily necessity in the Palace, so she usually didn't carry around any), Kagome made her way to the bar. A kind-faced woman with laugh wrinkles around her eyes smiled at her.

"Welcome to our inn! How can we help you?"

Kagome gazed down at her sandals. "I'd like a room for several nights while I search for a more permanent home. I'm not sure how long that will take, though, so…"

"Oh, I understand," the woman assured. "I get a lot of situations like yours. What we do is make sure you have the money. Not that I doubt you, of course, but it's protocol. And for newcomers like you, we lend out rooms in three-day packages. Usually, by that time, a vocation and residence is found for that traveler. If that is not the case for you, we could increase your stay, but frankly, I think you'll meld into our community very nicely!"

Kagome smiled weakly at her. "Arigato…"

"Naako-san," supplied the woman.

"Arigato, Naako-san," finished Kagome, bowing. "I'm very grateful for your kindness."

"Oh, don't mention it!" twittered the woman. "Let's see what you have, and then we can find you a room that's perfectly suited for you!"

In about an hour, all the arrangements were made, and Kagome was settled with a room. She would eat free breakfast and dinner at the inn in exchange for helping out around the kitchen, and in her free time, she would go out into the city, supposedly looking for a job and permanent lodging. What she'd really be doing was checking out the city jail, noting its strengths and weaknesses and formulating a plan to break her brother out that involved both of them getting back to the West safe and sound.

She set down her bag of belongings on the futon and gazed around her room. It wasn't the cream of the crop. It had no windows, it had only one doorway that served as entrance and exit, connecting her room to the main hallway, plus it was small and cramped. There were advantages and disadvantages to be taken from these observations. No windows: she couldn't sneak out through a window if the needs for such an act should arise, but she also wouldn't have to worry about assault attempts, at least not from that nonexistent portal. With only one doorway to her room, it would be easy to defend herself, but also hard for her to escape if she was cornered.

Kagome stretched luxuriously. The place didn't have a hot spring, but it did have bath service, which she would take full advantage of at the end of the day. Smiling at the thought of a refreshing hour of submerged bliss, she took one last look around her room and slipped away. She had some scouting to do.

-oOo-

The City Jail was a large, sprawling complex with many guards. The security was tighter than she had expected. Kagome studied the building carefully, noting its weaknesses and strengths. There were more of the latter than the former. It would be difficult getting Souta out.

Kagome bustled busily along the street, ducking into random shops. In between the detours, she stole quick, scanning glances at the building at the end of the street. The guard posts were located at strategic spots to ensure that the sentries posted there could see everything with their combined gaze. How could she slip between them without attracting their attention?...

Her eyes narrowed as she concentrated on her problem. To enter the jail, she could come in from the sides, above, or below. She couldn't exactly dig a tunnel into the jail without practically painting a sign over it that screamed _ESCAPE ROUTE. _She had no flying steed, so she couldn't come in from above. She'd have to enter from the sides. And that meant that she'd have to either scale the tall walls that surrounded the complex, or pass through the gates. There were no blind spots on the walls, so she couldn't scale them, unless there were no torches illuminating the surfaces at night. Judging by the visibly tight security on the jail, she doubted that would be the case. There would definitely be torches lighting up the walls. So how could she make it through the gates? She was pretty sure stealth wouldn't work. Force, maybe. Or… trickery.

Kagome slipped into a slipper shop and inquired hastily about work. As expected, the girl at the counter turned her away, saying that all their positions were filled, and there was already a long line waiting for possible vacancies. "So sorry, ma'am," she said. "But you must understand, there are so many refugees coming in by the hundreds. I myself am incredibly lucky to have this job…"

"Yes, I understand," Kagome said softly. Head bowed, she left the shop. As she did, another woman passed her on her way in, no doubt yet another refugee searching for work. Sighing, she did her best to look downtrodden in case she was being watched. Even as her eyes fixated on her worn sandals, her mind whirred with calculations. Could she pretend to be the wife of an inmate, coming in to see him? But no, they would obviously ask her what his number was and look him up on the files. Even if she gave random digits, got lucky and landed on an actual inmate, he would give her away.

And then she had a crazy idea. _Get myself locked up. _Her eyes widened. Maybe this could work! She could get herself arrested for some minor crime, without giving away her identity as General of the West, of course. And then she could find Souta, then break out!

_Wait, no…_

There were flaws in the plan. What if he was kept in a separate division? After all, he was a traitor, scheduled to be executed who knew when, and she was just a civilian serving a little bit of time. And what if she couldn't find him? Then what?

Her shoulders slumped, and she watched her feet tread softly on the paved street. Cracking this particular nut was proving to be more difficult than she had originally thought. This time, there was no army of youkai soldiers at her back to protect her and follow her every order. It was just her. She had to do this by herself. She was alone.

"Ma'am, can we help you?"

Startled, Kagome looked up into the disconcerted eyes of a sentry. She jerked to a halt a split second before her nose crashed into his chest. She backed away rapidly. "Oh, sorry," she gasped, slipping into her refugee routine. "I'm so sorry, sir! I- I wasn't looking where I was going! I'm so sorry!"

"It's all right, ma'am," reassured the sentry, putting up his hands as if to help her relax. "No one's going to hurt you."

Kagome nodded shakily. "I- I'm sorry!" With that final apology, she spun around and hurried away quickly.

"Newly arrived refugee," she heard him mutter to his fellow guard as she walked away.

She frowned, but resisted the urge to yell at him to give her twenty. _Remember, you're not a big figure here,_ she reminded herself. _You're just another face in the crowd… Stay incognito and out of sight. _ Pushing her frustration aside, she tried to empty her mind of all but the jail. She envisioned pushing a clutter of assorted items out of a clear bubble and filling it with a blast of cool air. _Concentrate…_

What were the weaknesses of the jail? There didn't seem to be any… But in any structure there were sure to be at least one. Nothing was impregnable. And if there was a weakness to be taken advantage of, the General of the West could find it. She hadn't been appointed to her position for no reason, after all. She had bested all the competing youkai with her own strengths, and with those she would save her blood brother. Kagome resorted to a particular strategy that had worked fairly well in the past with former assignments.

What would truly make the Jail as close to impregnable as possible?

_Well… If there were routine patrols in the sky, they could have a bird's eye view of incoming threats. Plus they would have an edge over opponents if it came to a battle. _That was the obvious first choice, at least with how Kagome's mind worked. And the Jail did _not_ have airborne sentries. _How does that give me an advantage? … Less guards for me to avoid, less guards to chase me as I make my escape. What's something else that would help the security?..._

She continued like this, wandering the streets and noting facts between shop stops. The City Prison didn't have an airborne guard… The sentries' shifts were eight hours long… When the shifts changed, they changed all at once… The inmates were exercised in a small, separately fenced in inner yard at noon… Conversation between the prisoners were allowed when they were outside as long as they kept it as a low buzz, but not when they were inside… Most of the sentries were older men, as the young ones were employed as soldiers… The sentries liked to make small conversation during their shifts… Some of the louder, more outspoken ones liked to call to women as they passed by…

All these small pieces of information drifted together in Kagome's mind until they formed a vague mosaic. She took a mental step back to consider her work, and was pleased. She could now return to the inn, where she would further define her plans. She smiled as she remembered a conversation just before her departure from the West.

-oOo-

_"Be careful, General."_

_Kagome smiled grimly. "Don't worry, boy. I'll get through it."_

_"Try…try not be captured."_

_She looked up with a raised eyebrow. "Have you no faith in me?"_

_He coughed. "O-of course not…. But… You are heading into enemy territory alone."_

_She shrugged. "Even if they did get me, I'd bite off my tongue before they could drug me up or slice me open to get me to spill any secrets." Her tone was deadly serious._

_"G-general."_

_"Yes?" Kagome didn't look away from the horse she was readying for her trip. _

_"I- I don't know if I should tell you this, b-but…"_

_"Then don't," she said matter-of-factly._

_The page shuffled his feet. "No, I think I will. Higurashi-sama, I originate f-from the East, where you are going. I… I know someone who would help you."_

_"Oh?"_

_He nodded. "Y-yes. There is a… a woman, an old lady. She helped me escape here, as she helped countless others cross the border."_

_"You're from the East? You're human," she said curiously. "Why do you not fight for Inuyasha?"_

_"Our family h-has long been loyal to the late Inu no Taisho. Our loyalty now is to his rightful heir, Sesshomaru-sama."_

_"Okay," Kagome said, adjusting the saddle. "So who is this lady?"_

_"Her name is Tsubaki, and she r-runs a pharmacy in the Cap-capital city. It's called the M-moon Serpent. Ask for her and tell h-her my name, and she… she will help you."_

_"Maybe," said Kagome. "What's your name? I don't think you ever told me."_

_The page smiled, and for a moment there was something in his eyes that she did not quite like. "Kohaku, General. My name is Kohaku."_

* * *

**MWAHAHAHAHA! Do you get what I'm doing here? Hahahaha! I'm evil, aren't I. Well, I'm just saying... Be careful who you trust, Kagome! What do you reckon about Kohaku, eh? Remember who his sister is, and who fought Kagome in Chapter One...**

**Please drop off a review before you go... I'd update all my other stories that much faster... ;3**


	15. The Youkai Village

CH 15

As Kagome lay in bed that night, she couldn't help but wonder how life was back in the West. She had only been gone for several days, but already it seemed worlds away. How were her soldiers? Were they training alright? ... For that matter, how was Sesshomaru?

Was he thinking about her even now? Maybe she had been gone too long, and he had gotten tired of waiting, and he had dismissed her from her position and appointed another to take her place, and she just didn't know about it. What if that was true? She shivered involuntarily.

_No,_ she assured herself. _He wouldn't do that. He'd wait for me. For however as long as it took, for either me or a letter telling him of my death or capture to reach him._

She shifted uncomfortably on the futon. After years of plush quarters, the threadbare mattress wasn't quite fitted to her tastes. There were rips and tears in the fabric, and only a few of them were mended, if that was what you could call stitching up the wounds raggedly with cheap thread. The pillow was severely under-stuffed, and not with sand, feathers, or even rags. From the feel and sound of it, it was hay. She knew that she was lucky to even have a pillow at all, but still… Sleep wouldn't come to her in these conditions. At least she had had a decent bath, and finally felt clean after days on the road. She rolled over on her stomach and buried her nose in the pillow, then immediately regretted it. It stank of sweat and body odor. It wasn't because of her; she had just taken a bath, and definitely wasn't sweaty. Did they even wash these things?

Scowling, Kagome threw the pillow across the room and grabbed her bag. She shoved it under her head and decided it was much better. She relaxed into her bedding, staring at the ceiling. Yes, her life at the West was certainly far away.

-oOo-

_Sumireko and Souta walked side by side along the road. It had been several hours since they had left the smoldering remains of their village behind. They were headed to Aoihanabira, where Sumireko had bought the fabric for her yukata. It had been in the morning on the same day, but it seemed to be years ago; so much had changed since then. The world as they knew it had fallen apart. They had a home no longer, family beside themselves no longer. Save each other, they were completely alone._

_Sumireko patted her little brother's shoulder encouragingly. _Just a little further, _she thought dully. Truthfully, she would have liked to go a little faster, but he couldn't travel so quickly in his current condition, and she herself probably couldn't either. Her throat and eyes felt raw from crying, and her limbs were wobbly. She could barely put one foot ahead of the other. But they managed to stagger along, falling down only a few times, until they reached the town of Aoihanabira. The marketplace was being cleared, the stalls being stacked away. The people there stared and whispered as the two raggedy children wobbled into their town. Sumireko and Souta just stood there in the town square, looking as pathetic as they felt. Finally, a man stepped forward. He held up his hands, and the mutters quieted._

_"I am Matsakito, the headman. What brings you youngsters to our beautiful town Aoihanabira?" he asked, looking them down from head to foot, noting every burn and gash on their bodies and clothing._

_Sumireko opened her mouth to speak, but no sound came out. She tried to say something, but she couldn't. She closed her mouth and then opened it again, but the result was the same. No words would be coaxed from her lips, no matter how hard she tried. All that would come forth was a whimpering that disgusted even her._

_The man eyed them coolly, clearly considering them little more than savages. "I'm sorry. Could you say that again?" he said, not even bothering to hide his sarcasm. "I couldn't understand you."_

_Sumireko stared at him angrily. _You pig, _she wanted to scream at him. But speak she could not. She resorted to plucking at her sleeve, picking at the burnt parts, trying to convey through her actions what she couldn't with words. _

_"You lit yourselves on fire?" he asked, crossing his arms. "Is that it? Why are you coming to us? You seem well extinguished by now. Go home to your village!" _

_Sumireko wanted to smack him hard upside the head. But she settled for shaking her head frantically._

_"Oh, Matsakito, maybe you should take them seriously," said an elderly voice from deep within the crowd."_

_"Please, let me handle this, Ekihi-san," said the man respectfully. "These are probably a couple of guttersnipes from a larger town, or nobodies from a tiny, obscure village, just begging for attention. It's best if you don't give them any credit, or even better, don't pay them any attention at all." _

_Souta whimpered and huddled closer to Sumireko. She scowled and clenched her fists by her sides. Then, she couldn't take it anymore, the leer from the stupid headman, the whispers from the crowd. Her face darkened, and in one smooth movement, she stepped forward and punched the man in the stomach. True, she was very young, but he was quite short. Uttering a grunt, the stocky man stepped back, then the surprise on his face transforming into fury, struck her hard across the face. She was knocked back several yards by the force of his blow, and she fell to her hands and knees. In a flash, she was up, but he ran forward and picked her up by the throat. The crowd was breaking into loud shouts, fists waving in the air._

_Sumireko cried out, scrabbling at his fingers with hers. She wasn't getting enough air into her lungs; her windpipe was being crushed by his thick, strong fingers._

_"Let her go, Matsakito!" A man shouted, dashing out of the crowd. He pulled at the headman's arm, and with a scowl, Matsakito released Sumireko. She crumpled to her knees, then got up quickly and backed away, face as dark and stormy as a hurricane. She snarled, and the sound was that of a wild animal._

_The headman scowled. "Stay out of this, Kurasu. This little brat needs to be taught a lesson. She started it first!" He sounded like a child when he said so. _

_Kurasu narrowed his eyes. "You were goading her on pretty strong about her roots. Maybe she's a mute, but I gather she can understand you. I think it was a perfectly normal reaction!" He jutted his chin forward in a clearly defiant position._

_"You're saying she was right to assault me?"_

_"Assault you?" Kurasu scoffed. "She punched you in the stomach once. She's a little kid. What, did it hurt, Matsakito? Hurry, get a bandage!" He waggled his fingers sarcastically._

_"No," retorted the older man. "But I won't be disrespected like that!"_

_Kurasu snorted. "Yeah? You were disrespecting her first. Let's just forget about it, hmm?"_

_Matsakito glared down at the girl. As much as he wanted to teach her a lesson, he didn't want to get into a prolonged argument with Kurasu. Although he was the headman, the younger man had much popular support from the villagers, and he didn't want to put his headman status at risk by forcing the people to choose sides between the two of them. "Hmph. Fine. But she better not be seeking shelter here. I won't let her stay."_

_Kurasu rolled his eyes. "Fine." He turned to the girl. There was no affection in his eyes, but no ill will either. It was clear that his standing up for her was only through his sense of justice; he had no personal opinion of her. "You had best move on, girl. You've stirred up some trouble here."_

_Sumireko stared at him. _But we need to stay here_, she wanted to say. _We have no home left. _But his eyes were stern. _

_"We can feed you before you go," he continued. There was some muttering form the crowd, but no one objected. "And you can sleep here just for the night. We will not let two young children venture alone into the dark and the dangers that come with it. But in the morning, you must leave."_

_Sumireko wanted to argue, but she couldn't without a voice. She nodded weakly. Hugging Souta, she followed Kurasu through the crowd through the village. Her mind was plagued with worry. What would they do in the morning? _

-oOo-

**_There. Just a little bit further_**_, thought Sumireko as she staggered towards the village in the distance. It seemed like a mirage; no matter how far and fast she walked, it never got any closer. But she knew it was real. She could smell the delicious aroma of cooking food in the air. Unless that was a product of her imagination as well. _

_She was carrying her little brother on her back. He had recently collapsed, never having walked for so long in his life until now. The stress and fatigue had been too great, and his body and succumbed. He was sagging on her back like a sack of potatoes, heavy and useless. Sumireko wanted to take a break, but she couldn't, not now. She'd allow herself to rest once they arrived at the village. Surely they would at least allow two little children to stay the night. Then again, the hospitality of villages hadn't been very promising lately. They had gone through three villages so far, and they had been rejected, walking away with nothing in their bellies more often than not. Their last full meal, and village encounter, had been several days ago; they had survived on berries and herbs that she had managed to forage. She didn't know why this particular village was so far spread out from the others, but she didn't care. All she wanted was something soft to lie down on._

_When she thought she could put one foot ahead of the other no longer, Sumireko looked up and realized that she had made it. Just a couple more steps and she'd officially be within the confines of this village. But there was something strange about this place. Something deeper than instinct was urging her to flee. The structure of the buildings was strange, and the sounds were not those of any village she had come across so far. She seriously considered leaving while she could, but just then Souta let out a whimper, and she knew she couldn't. They'd die without any help, no matter how many berries or plants she could find._

_Sumireko wandered the streets, unable to make a cry for help. The sound just would not pass her throat. Hopefully, a villager would come across her soon. But the lack of people itself was puzzling. Somewhere in her dazed, foggy mind, she knew that at this time, nearing sunset, farmers should be returning from the fields. Maybe they were staying late to harvest some crop of theirs? _

_"Mama!"_

_The high, piercing shriek bore into her ears, and instinctively Sumireko recoiled from the sound. She turned around to see the strangest boy she'd ever seen._

_His hair was dark green, his eyes were a fierce shade of scarlet, and peeking out through his hair were… horns? He opened his mouth to call again, and she caught a glimpse of fangs._

**_Kami,_**_ Sumireko thought, dread seeping into her heart. This was a demon village, unless the strange features of the boy were just some illusions from her exhausted brain. She had stumbled into a demon village! _

_"Mama!"_

_"What is it, Kichiro?" _

_There was a woman now, looking remarkably like her son, except that she had a serpentine tail sweeping gracefully behind and between her legs. Her dark red eyes widened as the slits on her face that Sumireko supposed were nostrils flared. A forked tongue flickered out, tasting the air. "A human! Two humans!"_

_"What are we going to do with them, mama?"_

_The woman smiled, baring deadly fangs. "Well, what elssse are humans good for but eating? Kichiro, run and distract the othersss. Keep them away from this section of the village! I will not share this prize with any of them. Just our little family."_

_Kichiro ran off, running in a queer manner, almost swaying with sinuous grace as he hurried away. His mother turned to the humans who had stumbled into her village, delighted with this turn of events. "Aren't you honored, you gutter ratssss?"_

_Sumireko shook her head dumbly. Slowly, entire body trembling, she backed away. But for every step she took, the woman matched it with one of her own, still smiling that fanged smile. Something that looked like drool was dripping off the point of one pointed tooth, and the dirt sizzled as the droplet made touch with it. Sumireko continued backing away, almost mechanically, but was forced to stop when she could walk no further. She knew without looking that Souta's back was pressed against a wall. Slowly, she released him, lowering him gently to the ground by her feet. Then she closed the resulting distance from her back to the wall, dragging her brother with her. _

_The snake woman laughed, a weird medley of hisses and giggles. She took another step, enjoying how the girl shrank back from her, utter terror in her eyes. She wouldn't mind toying with her a bit more, torturing her mind with slow, teasing advances, then tormenting her body with repeated strikes to the body, but she knew Kichiro couldn't hold off the other villagers for long. And she did **not** like to share. She hissed, the sound this time full of menace. "Come, sssubmit, and I'll make it quick."_

_Sumireko gripped her brother's yukata tightly. Then, to her horror, her knees gave way, buckling traitorously. She slid down the wall, the rough texture of the material scraping her back. He rear landed on the packed dirt of the village with an unceremonious thud, and pain shot up her spine, but she could barely feel it. Her entire body was numb. She was going to die, she knew it. Her shoulders slumped._

_The youkai grinned. "A quick death it is." With a mesmerizing flick of her acid green hair, she lunged towards the fallen humans, mouth suddenly seeming wider than humanly possible, fangs growing as long and sharp as sabers, hands outstretched, the sunlight gleaming off the line of scales that marched up each arm. Her scarlet eyes gleamed triumphantly as she prepared herself for a satisfying meal. **Humans are so much better than the regular old deer or rabbit**_**. **_The thought crossed her mind in the split millisecond it took for her to move instantly to the girl and boy. **A little tougher, yes, and but so much tastier. And these two younglings look like they'll be soft and tender.**_

_And then she thought no more._

_Sumireko looked up in shock, just to see wide red eyes stare back at her, seemingly as confused as she was. _

**_What…?_**

_The snake youkai seemed immobilized; her face was frozen in a startled grimace, her unhinged jaw hanging wide open. Even her tongue was still. _

_It started with her face. A tiny flake of skin fell off the woman's cheek, to be immediately picked up by the wind and whisked away. It was followed by another. Then another. And yet another. Slowly at first and then gaining speed, her face was crumbling like an old stone wall fast-forwarded. _

_Sumireko wanted to scream, and the shriek all the way up her throat and almost, almost burst from her lips, but an invisible net caught it. She was just as frozen as the youkai, watching the awful scene unfold through horrified eyes._

_Soon, the only things that remained of the youkai's face were her eyes. And then they were gone too, the terror in those blood red irises disintegrating into pink powder that scattered in the wind like dandelion seeds. The rest of her body followed suit, and in less than a minute, the only sign that she had ever trodden the earth was a smattering of emerald-toned scales on the ground. _

_Sumireko clutched Souta close to her heart, confused. Had she done that? Finally, she looked down at her hands, and realized they were glowing pink. Not a steady glow, like a steady candle, more like the frantic sputter of a tiny flame being teased by a child's breath. **What?** _

_The patter of feet tore her attention away, and she looked back up and gulped. Emerging slowly from between the buildings was no less than two dozen youkai. They looked more or less like the boy and woman, with varying shades of green hair and red eyes. They slinked forward, forked tongues flickering like blades of grass in a windy moor. They seemed to be transfixed by the glittering scales on the ground. _

_"Hasssimi… iss dead?" _

_"The girl iss a miko!" _

_Their glares swung to Sumireko, who shrank back. **No, you're wrong, I'm not a miko**, she wanted to say. Her mother was a miko, and so were some others in her village, along with a couple monks and priests. She herself had never shown any aptitude for the gift. But yet the proof was right in front of her. _

_"Let'sss kill her before she maturesss any further," hissed one larger than the rest. His eyes were the color of raspberries; red with a tinge of pink. His hair was a dark, murky green, almost black shade. _

_The other youkai seemed to agree, and together they advanced, a frightening line of furious, inhuman figures. _

_-oOo-_

_Sesshomaru looked down the long table, staring down his Council. "Are you afraid? Afraid to reclaim the land that is rightfully ours?"_

_Someone coughed. "With all due respect, my lord, it was your late father's wishes that the half-breed rule the East. Would you go back on the word of your sire?"_

_"He also wished that Inuyasha used the Tetsusaiga in defense of his land. Yet the idiot cannot even wield it properly, thus he is a vulnerability to uprisings and attacks. For the good of the West and East both, we must oust him from his position." Sesshomaru dared anyone to argue otherwise with his icy glare._

_The Council exchanged glances, and the Lord of the West held back a sigh. Did these fools have no pride of their land? Would that they would allow a mere half-breed to rule the East, albeit the bastard of Inu no Taisho?_

_The bravest of them cleared his throat and opened his mouth, presumably to put forth an argument. And then it happened. They all felt it. How could they not?_

_The pulse of reiki was impossible to miss. It came from far off, yet it was as clear as if it had been right next door. _

_Two apostrophe marks formed between Sesshomaru's brows as he frowned. A miko or monk with that much power inside his lands? Last time he had checked, and it hadn't been long ago, since he liked to keep a steady, constant stream of updates about his kingdom, there had been no one with that significant amount of reiki around. Besides, he had taken care of that one village that tended to produce the most miko. Was it a spy from Inuyasha's East? Someone to wreak havoc on his mostly-youkai population? _

_"I will have to investigate this immediately," he announced, rising from his seat. He was secretly grateful for the excuse to adjourn the meeting. "I will take six of my High Guard." He didn't wait for their responses, leaving the hall as quickly as he could (and that was pretty darn fast). He sent out timed pulses of his youkai through the palace, and by the time he was standing in the courtyard, six soldiers were following him. He didn't bother speaking to them. He simply summoned his youki orb and blazed away, knowing that they were following him._

-oOo-

"You think she's had enough time?"

"Definitely," said Sango. "She would have rushed here as fast as she could. The trip would only take a couple of days at top speed, three at the worst, and it's been four. She's here in this city, right now. I'm sure of it."

Inuyasha scratched his head. "What if she doesn't care about her brother that much?"

Sango glared at him. "Any sister would do the same."

Miroku intervened before anyone (Inuyasha) got hurt. "I agree with Sango. Our spy reported that she left a mere hour after she received the letter. She must be truly desperate, doubtlessly having figured out that she had no certain way of knowing exactly when the letter had been sent."

"How'd she get the letter anyways? The stink's in jail, remember?"

"Undercover workers."

Inuyasha snickered. "Right. Tell me about the scene again? With her and Sesshomaru?"

Sango switched her glare to Miroku. "Don't you dare."

The monk raised his hands defensively. "It's an order." He turned to Inuyasha. "They were in a passionate embrace, kis-" He broke off as a fist crashed into the side of his head. "Ow!"

The taijiya shook her smoking fist. "That's not important right now. Can we please focus on capturing her?"

Miroku sighed. "Of course. No rest for the weary." His gaze turned serious, despite his jesting. "We have to be extremely careful. All people involved in the capture must be one hundred percent human, or her miko powers could harm them. Of course, they could still be harmed, but they wouldn't be purified."

"But that raises problems. How are we supposed to track her down?" Sango raised her eyebrows. "Our most efficient trackers have at least a bit of youkai in them. Regular dogs wouldn't do."

Miroku nodded. "That is why we won't be tracking her. We'll be letting her come to us." He drew a map of the city out of his sleeve and unfurled it, spreading it on the table around which they were standing. His finger pointed out certain sections as he continued speaking. As he revealed his plan, Sango, Inuyasha, and the other people in the war meeting began to nod, seeing his reasoning and approving.

Finishing up his presentation, Miroku looked around the table, dark blue eyes triumphant. "Do we have a game plan, people?"

There was a rumble of assent and eyes gleamed all around the room as they plotted the General's downfall.

-oOo-

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**Almost 4,000 words, people. And that's not even counting my A/N:! MY RECORD! I am soo excited! I haven't even gotten 3,000 before, hahaha. I know I should have cut it down (some of you are yelling indignantly right now :D), but I just couldn't. Every bit of this chapter was crucial. I had to have all those past scenes, plus the ending was just perfect! Soo, what do you say, my friends? Will you reward me with my favorite kind of treat? Tell me how you liked this chapter, what you think is going to happen!**

**This is Stardust Miko signing out! I heart you! Oh, and may the muse be with you! :D**


	16. Precious

CH 16

_Takahiro whistled as he walked leisurely along the village. A bag filled with groceries was slung over his shoulder and bounced against his back as he moved. He wondered idly whether Sumireko had noted his absence. She probably had; they hung out all the time and he couldn't see why this morning would be any different. She had probably showed up at his place today and asked his mother where he went. She would probably be hurt that he hadn't taken her along, but he knew he could smooth her out with a few words. All in all, he was sort of glad he hadn't brought her along. Ochiromizu had been strange today. At the market, the conversation had been hushed, and the people had sneaked glances at their surroundings suspiciously, as if they feared an attack from all sides. He had heard mutters of a war; that had explained their strange behavior. The men were either excited or nervous about being called up for duty, and the women and children had been fearing for their husbands, fathers, and brothers. They were also worried about something else. Bandits. Word was spreading that they were taking advantage of the confusion caused by the impending war with the East and that they were attacking villages even more savagely than before. He had tried to listen more, using his age and size to sidle closer without arousing suspicion, but the villagers had rounded on him, closing ranks like an army. They had barely allowed him to purchase his goods without threatening him outright. Quite understandably, he'd left as soon as possible._

_The impact of his bare feet on the packed dirt of the road barely registered to him, partly because of the toughness of his soles, partly because his mind was so preoccupied by the behavior of Ochiromizu. And in such a state of mind, he did not notice the strange stench until he made it over the rise of a hill and was given the full view of the land below… and the ruins of his village. _

_At first, his eyes simply refused to believe it. He must have taken a wrong turn, and that was all. But the evidence glared at him harshly. The landscape was horribly familiar, save its colors, and even the ground beneath his feet felt like an old friend. But his home… It was a stranger._

_As if in a trance, his feet carried him down to the village. By the time he had reached its outskirts, the pads of his feet were coated with thick, grayish white ash that were clumped together in lumps but crumbled easily under pressure. _It's like the finest soil,_ he thought hazily. _No, it's like flour, ground so fine that you could make imprints of your hand on it. _He shook himself like a wet dog. He was far from wet, though; soon his legs were caked thick with the disintegrated bodies of his friend and family as he waded through the ashes, still blissfully detached from it all. _I don't get it… This is a pretty lame joke, _he thought with a twinge of arrogance. _It's just going to take a lot of time to clean up, and it's not even funny. _Then, _Hey, where is everyone?

_It was deadly silent inside the village, save the occasional crackle and hiss from a dying fire. Takahiro scowled. _This is so lame. _He stared down with disgust at his dusty legs. _I swear I'm going to hunt down who invented this dipshit of a joke and make him pay for all the trouble he's making me go through. _He kicked at the clumpy gray powder that coated everything. It would take forever to clean everything off, and no doubt the village would blame him for everything. Whenever something bad happened, it was always him they blamed. But then again, perhaps they had a reason; he usually was the source of mischief in the village. _

_He trudged along the village, stepping over large clumps of ash. This he managed with little difficulty, but when he misjudged a landing, his foot caught on the log-like clod and he fell face-first into the ash. "Gah!" he shouted in a muffled voice, spitting out the thick, tasteless dust. "This is gross! What is this stuff?" He got up shakily and threw a glare at the ash clod. Slowly, though, his anger transformed into horror. Jutting from the long, colorless bump was a human arm. "Gahhhh!" Suddenly, like a lightning flash illuminating a previously shadowed landscape in stark white, it clicked. Takahiro backed away, his huge eyes fixed firmly on the protruding object of his horror. "W-what the hell…?" Then he remembered._

_Hanoji, did you hear about that raid on the village a bit to the north?_

_Yeah, I hear it was burned to the ground. No survivors. Not that far away, either!_

_I know, right? And when the tradesman tried to stop in there for a night's sleep, he discovered they had all been beheaded, with their heads piled in a pyramid in the village square. _

_Takahiro inched closer, horrified but fascinated at the same time by the grisly details. But the two women gave him a startled glance and hurried away, clutching their baskets. He had stood there, murmurings of the bandits echoing all around him. And now, it was reliving that moment. _

_…it was burned to the ground…no survivors…all beheaded...heads piled…pyramid…village square… _

_Disjointed sections of the conversation, like insect legs, floated by in the numbness that swirled inside his head. _No…_ Automatically, almost as if they were steering themselves, his feet turned in the direction of the village square. Empty-eyed, he walked past landmarks in the ashes that he knew in some other, coolly logical part of him were the sprawled remains of his friends and family. But his warmer, emotional core refused to openly accept the truth and instead turned away. When at last he turned the corner into the village square, his eyes held certain expectance that died away, allowing relief to take its place as he beheld the absence of a pyramid of heads in the dirt. Here, there were more bodies, but no, no stacked structures of his neighbors' heads. _

_Takahiro slumped to the ground. The numbness in his head was melting away like ice, replaced with the fire of hatred. His village had been raided. His friends and family had been slaughtered and left to burn. The bandits who had done this, they would pay for this. His eyes darkening, he leapt to his feet and started to run. He no longer noticed the ash. He was focused only on reaching his destination. _

_He dashed into his home, struggling to breathe through the thick smoke that still pervaded the air. "Mom? Mom!" he called, his voice hoarse. He knew, somewhere deep inside, that there was no way she could have survived this, but still he hoped. He tentatively made his way through the halls, and when his eyes found the prone body of his mother, he jerked backwards. But he was not filled with sorrow. The horrific discovery only served to infuriate him further. Almost automatically, his eyes were drawn to the bolt of fabric on the floor. It was white with patches of sky blue, conspicuously colorful in the dull gray of the village. He frowned. How had this gotten here? It should have burned along with everything else. Then he noticed that it was not, as he had initially thought, on the floor. It was floating in a shallow pan of water. That must be it. And then his thought processes led him to recall that morning with uncharacteristic clarity for one of his age. _

_His mother had been washing his blue sash, the one Sumireko had given him. And whenever she washed things, she usually left them in this very pan to wash off the last of the soap. So his sash…_

_He refused to believe what his eyes told him and raked his hand through the warm, grimy water, but his fingers scooped out various articles of clothing from his own household, not the sash. Where was the sash? He could see the same clothes he had seen his mother washing along with the sash, but the sash itself was gone. _

_Then he knew._

_Those bandits had stolen his sash! They'd taken one of the last gifts Sumireko had ever given him! He gripped the red and white sashes tightly. The blue one, the one with the violet painstakingly stitched into one end, had been his favorite. _

_A quick round through the village, including her house, told him that Sumireko's body was nowhere to be seen. **They probably kicked her ashes apart**, he thought dully. He looked down and was surprised to see that he was still clutching the unfamiliar swatch of white fabric. He was about to cast it away, but he thought better of it. **I obviously can't live here anymore. I could use this to carry stuff.** _

_Takahiro kicked at a stone, disgusted with himself. **What's wrong with me? Why am I not crying? I haven't shed a single tear. I must be sick.** He glared at the unending sea of monotonous gray, willing himself to weep. But his eyes remained as dry as the ashes that clogged his toes. He gritted his teeth. "Fine then. It's not like I care."_

_The young boy took one last look around the village where he had grown up, repulsed by his own lack of grief. "I'll make them scream," he said out loud. "I'll hunt down those blasted bandits and make them beg for mercy. And then I'll chop off their heads and toss their bodies in the forest." Takahiro was aware of the great gap in his chest, invisible but still there. "And then maybe I'll be complete. I'll avenge every single person who died here. Sumireko, Mother, Father… I swear this on your graves."_

_Teal eyes blank with simmering fury, the youth turned on his heel and walked away, determined to bathe in the blood of the bandits who had committed this horrible crime._

_-oOo-_

_It didn't take long for them to reach the spot where the reiki had radiated out from. Sesshomaru recognized it as a village of snake youkai. He sent out a signal, and the group of inuyoukai lowered themselves to the earth a hundred yards away from the flare. He could sense the reiki. He masked his aura and scent, and his soldiers followed suit. Silent as shadows, they walked closer to the reiki._

_Sesshomaru was surprised by what he saw. A human girl no older than six was sitting with her knees gathered up to her chest, back pressed against the wall. She held a smaller boy close. There was a wildly flickering holy aura around her. _

**_That's her? But she's so young… And what is she doing here?_**

_He saw the scales on the ground and realized the flare of reiki had been from when she must have purified some youkai. This couldn't be Inuyasha's work. Not even the idiot was capable of such a stupid move, sending two toddlers into enemy territory, and by the looks of it, barely trained, if at all. _

_The snake youkai, oblivious to the presence of the Lord and his Guard, crept forward. Raising an eyebrow, Sesshomaru watched them, interested to see what would happen next._

_In a concerted move, the youkai sprang forward. Obviously they thought that if they took her on all at the same time, they would overwhelm her. But that wasn't what happened._

_A huge wave of reiki, much bigger than the one he had sensed, erupted from the girl, ripping through the youkai. _

_Sesshomaru withstood the attack, holding up a barrier of youki to protect his guard. He couldn't believe how strong she was. **She cannot be from the East… Inuyasha would not squander her in a suicide mission such as this. But she cannot be from the West either… I am sure I would have sensed her earlier. **And then, **unless she has just recently developed her powers. **_

_Sumireko looked up, seeing the scene with the snake woman repeat, but on a much larger scale, with these youkai. It had to be true. Was she really a miko? Would they not die after all? Her heart filled with hope, then plummeted again as a tall figure stepped out of the billowy ashes. Six slight smaller figures flanked him, three on each side, a little behind. She shrank back, holding onto Souta as if he were a lifesaver. She couldn't even control her bursts of reiki. It had been pure instinct. And somehow she sensed that the tall youkai was very, very strong. _

_The ashes cleared, and she saw him full on. That long, flowing silver hair, those piercing golden eyes, the markings on his face… He was a youkai alright. Maybe even a taiyoukai._

_Sesshomaru was altogether disconcerted by the show of power the girl had shown. She was immensely powerful… yet she seemed to have no control over it. She was dangerous. He could have to kill her. He stepped forward and brought down his youki in a massive attack on the girl. Strangely, she hadn't made a sound, not to scream, not even to beg. A mute? He frowned when she withstood his attack better than she should have. He could sense his soldiers reaching out with their youki, wanting to add to his assault, but he signaled for them to step back. He'd handle her himself. Determined to get rid of the girl before she became a full-on thorn in his side, he increased his attack, pressing down enormous pressure on her._

_Sumireko screwed her eyes shut tightly. She had been right. He was strong. Too strong! They were going to die. She squinted up at the taiyoukai. He had the coldest eyes she'd ever seen, but they were beautiful too, like honey-tinted ice. _

_Sesshomaru clenched his jaw. Stupid girl. Why wasn't she submitting? The air between them was flashing pink and green as their auras clashed, and he was definitely making headway, but he couldn't quite get to her. He forced himself to push harder and was rewarded by her first whimper. And then, to his surprise, she pushed him back. Now his beast, who had been watching the proceedings in a bored fashion, sat up and took interest. _

**_Are you losing your edge? What's wrong with you?_**

_Sesshomaru gritted his teeth. He knew that his eyes were starting to stain red and he hated the fact that his soldiers would probably think just that; that he, their mighty lord, was losing his edge. He widened his eyes as his aura was pushed back again. The girl had buried her face in her arms and was crying. _

_His beast sniggered. **Wow. Losing to a little crybaby girl. I'm ashamed of you. You're making me look bad. **_

**Shut up**_, he growled. Narrowing his eyes, he drew up all his aura. Her reiki flooded outwards, the pressure on it gone. And then Sesshomaru brought his youki down again with as much force as he could muster._

_Sumireko screamed. It felt awful. It was like she was being forced into herself. Like she was being flipped inside out, literally, someone reaching deep down her throat and grabbing her insides and pulling._

_Sesshomaru pushed all of her reiki back into her tiny body and made sure it couldn't escape again, completely encompassing her with his youki. He stepped forward, knowing that this was the best time to deal a killing blow. And yet he hesitated. _

**_Go on, kill her_**_, urged his beast, his most primal part, the part of him that demanded total submission. _

_And yet he hesitated._

**She's strong. She would be useful.**

**_So? She defied us. She made us look bad. She has to die. Besides, why do you think we exterminated all those other miko and monks? Becaaaauuuse they were a danger. What with the war, they could destroy us from the inside._**

_Sesshomaru drew his sword, flicking it out to his side. One twitch of his wrist and this nuisance would be gone. _

**_Now!_**_ yelped his beast, losing patience. It tried to take over, to make the decision for him, but Sesshomaru forced it away. _

**I can do it myself. **_He knew he sounded like a petulant child, but he didn't care. He prepared himself to knock the girl's head off her shoulders, but froze when she looked up._

_He didn't know how he hadn't noticed before, but her eyes were the most beautiful shade of blue he had ever seen, and for a taiyoukai who had lived as long as he had, that meant **something**. Tears were running freely down her cheeks, leaving pale tracks down her grimy, dusty skin. And she was looking at him reproachfully under long, black lashes, reproach mixed with terror, hatred, and defiance, a decidedly odd combination. _

_And Sesshomaru found that he couldn't do it. _

_He couldn't, no matter how hard he tried with his iron will, bring himself to extinguish the life that shone in those cerulean irises, brighter than the sun, more beautiful than the moon. _

_Any lesser man's arm would have shook as he lowered his sword, but the inu taiyoukai was no such thing, and thus did no such thing. He gracefully sheathed his sword and looked down at the girl. Confusion had joined the mix now, he noted. The same emotion radiated from his soldiers, and he would have been lying if he didn't feel it either. _

_"You have killed my people."_

_His voice slid over her thoughts like a glacier, leaving Sumireko frozen. Why had he put his sword away? Wasn't he going to kill her? Hadn't he just said that she had killed his people?_

_"That is a crime that your death alone cannot avenge. Thus, you will pay for your wrongs by serving the West."_

_She blinked. What? What was he saying? Serving the West? _

_Sesshomaru sensed her bewilderment, but didn't know what to say himself. He had simply spouted off the first excuse that had sprang into his mind. Having no idea how to continue, he lashed out with a delicate thread of youki and targeted a specific point in the base of her neck. Her eyes widened, then glazed over, and she slumped down, limp as a rag doll. He bent down and picked her up, tucking her small body under one arm. He turned to face his soldiers, who were trying to disguise their shock to the best of their abilities. _

_"Let's go."_

_"And the boy, my lord?"_

_Sesshomaru turned his head to look at the boy who was presumably the girl's brother. "Bring him along," he decided. If her holy abilities were hereditary, and the boy had them too, their usefulness would double, maybe even triple. "If he proves to be a hindrance, he will be disposed of."_

_"Yes, my lord." The soldier who had asked the question bowed and picked the boy, slinging him over his shoulder. _

_Sesshomaru cast one last look around the village. "I've been in this hovel long enough." Without another word, he leapt into flight as gracefully as hawk, his youki forming a sphere around him. Trailing a tail of bright green sparks, the taiyoukai sped back to the Palace of the West, with his precious cargo in tow._

* * *

**So there you have it, folks! That is how Kagome and Sesshomaru met! Now, remember the breakdown Kagome had in chapter 6-ish? Remember all that weird stuff she said? You might wanna go back to it and read it over again. It'll make way more sense because now you know her past! So... Whoa! What's that box over there? Look, there's a sign on it! ...It says, 'Please feed my plot bunnies.' Hmm, wonder what that could mean... :3**


	17. The Red Pride

**It was really hard to choose which story to update for my birthday eve in addition to Covenant, but in the end I decided General because, well, I love this story! Even though it's more of an action story than a romance, I love to work on it. So yeah, even if you guys don't like this story as much as my other SessKags... Too bad! :D**

* * *

CH 17

Kagome blew lightly on her fingertips, then brought them down to her sides as she appraised the building before her.

_The Blue Jackal._

She sighed. This was _not _a place she would normally go to; in fact, she'd give it a wide berth. But desperate times called for desperate measures, so she went ahead and pushed her way through the door, blinking as she tried to get used to the dim lighting.

"Did you lose your way, sweetheart?" sneered a coarse voice.

She spun to her right. Out of the darkness loomed a huge bear-like man with a nose like a ripe tomato; big, fat, and ruddy red.

"No, I'm not lost," she said coolly. "This is the place I'm looking for." She looked the man up and down and decided that he must be a hanyou. His size was simply too great for a full-blooded human, but he didn't give off any youki. At least, not that she could sense.

"You sure, swe—"

Kagome stepped up close to him, very close, and held the knife she had drawn in an instant up to his throat. "Call me _sweetheart_ one more time," she said in a low voice, "And your friends will be scrubbing your blood off the floor where you're standing right now for days."

The man's beady eyes narrowed, and he made as if to grab for her wrist. Face blank, she sliced open his wrist. Blood sprayed the wooden floorboards at his feet, and he sprang back, growling. "If you wanted to get into this tavern, you chose a bad way to do it, swe… wench."

She smiled coldly at him. "No, I think I did the right thing. I'm going to sit down and order a drink, and if you try to stop me or attack me or inconvenience me in any way, you'll pay ten times the price. And I don't think I need to tell you what my form of currency is." Kagome flicked her hair over one shoulder and walked right past the hanyou, who was breathing very hard. She made her way to a secluded table, just big enough for one, located in such a part of the bar that she could see everything going on around her and no one could sneak up behind her. She was right next to the serving counter. She sat down on the rickety stool and tapped her fingers impatiently on the table. "Hello? Anybody home?"

A man walked towards her, wiping his hands on a dirty dishcloth. "Apologies, madam. How can I help you?" He grinned at her, baring fangs.

_Youkai maybe? Naw, youki not strong enough. Another hanyou. Thought so. Seems my information was right; this back alley bar is for __**these**__ sorts. _"Brandy, half-and-half with coffee. Throw in a glug of berry sap and a dash of molasses. Stick a spring of mint in it and I'll call it good."

"This isn't a high-quality shop. The berry sap and molasses and mint will cost you extra. I'm assuming you have the means to pay, madam?"

In response, she rolled two coppers across her knuckles. "You give me my drink, I give you your coppers. Sound fair?"

"Sounds fair, madam." He set about making her order, opening various drawers, pulling out jugs and parcels.

She watched him work. What with his job here in the slums, he'd probably be a good informant. Kagome leaned across the bar, still playing with the coins. "Tell you what," she murmured. "I'm new to town and there are some things I need to know. Be my little birdie and I'll make it worth your while."

He glanced at her as he poured thin black liquid from a ladle into her mug. "I have a mate, madam."

She had to choke back a laugh. She was tempted to slit his throat right then and there, but then again, her words had been pretty heavy with implications. "I'm not talking about _that_," she muttered. "I'm talking _ca-ching_."

The hanyou uncorked a small, slender jug and upended it, passing it once over her drink before recorking it. A pleasant mountain berry scent wafted into the air, overpowering the initial stink of sweat and body odor. "I don't inform on my friends, or even just my customers," he warned. "We have a code of honor around these parts."

Kagome blew a raspberry. "Don't worry, coyote boy, I'm not a bounty hunter or anything," she drawled without thinking. Silently cursing herself, she hoped he wouldn't notice. Unfortunately, he did.

"How did you know I am a coyote?" he asked, eyes narrowing to form slits.

She rolled her eyes as nonchalantly as she could. "Look here, _coyote boy_. When you've been in my line of work as long as I have, you learn to look for certain things." She gestured at him. "Fangs. Face structure, canine. Furry tail, not thick enough to be fox, and besides, if you were a kitsune, you wouldn't be working in a place like this. So either wolf, jackal, or coyote, or some other dog sub-species that no one knows or cares about. You don't strike me as a wolf, and jackals are somewhat exotic, so I guessed coyote."

He stared at her, yellow eyes glowing eerily in the dim light. Kagome shivered. Darken the shade of his irises a little, and emphasize the shadows marking his face to make them more chiseled and defined… Coyote boy could be Sesshomaru, minus the hair and markings. She forced herself to unravel the illusion she had woven.

"Pretty impressive," he was admitting. "What is your job?"

She shrugged. "Mercenary of sorts." It was partly true, only she didn't work for Sesshomaru out of a need for money. It was more out of loyalty and loneliness. There was nowhere else she could go, after all.

Coyote boy decided not to press it. Some things and questions were better left unknown and unasked, he knew after years of working in the underground. That way, if anyone else came around asking awkward questions, he had nothing to tell. He handed her the drink, accepting her coppers. "So what is it that you wish to know? Mind you, if it's too probing, I won't answer."

"Got it. I need a youkai, preferably of small stature. Someone who can sneak around easily without being seen."

He rubbed his chin. He knew a couple regulars at his bar that would almost fit her specifications. "There are some," he admitted. "But they are hanyou and human. We don't have too many full youkai around these parts. They're all on Sesshomaru's side."

Kagome nodded. "Alright then. Tell me about the people you're thinking of, coyote boy." She flipped her palm-downward hand, and showed him the bronze sitting on her palm.

-oOo-

Kagome yawned and stretched, smiling contentedly. An hour or so soaking in a hot spring really could do wonders for a tired, sore body, as she had rediscovered last night. "Another big, big day," she muttered under her breath. Today, she would be staking out a local tavern. Coyote boy, whose actual name she hadn't bothered to learn, had told her that the man she wanted frequented _The Red Pride. _

She crawled out of bed, tugging on the sash of her sleeping yukata. Shrugging off the slip of flimsy white fabric, she reached for her day yukata, which was an ugly shade of yellow. It had been selected to best downplay her eyes, which were her most distinctive feature. Plenty of people had dark hair, even raven hair with blue tints like hers, and plenty of _those _people had small builds, and a lot of _those _people had an olive complexion, and some of the people who had dark hair, small builds, and olive complexions did have blue eyes, but her eyes were unique. She knew that from spending time with demons. Blue eyes were common among them, but no pair of peepers she'd seen yet had managed to even come close to her color of eyes. The unique hues of cerulean, cobalt, and cyan, with highlights of ice blue and silver had no equal. No one who saw them ever forgot them. They were instantly recognizable, and that was why Kagome was wearing colors and makeup that would make them look as dull and common as possible. She hadn't gotten too many looks from passerby, so she supposed she had succeeded.

"Wonder what mess Naako-san has slapped on the table and called it breakfast this time? Rat tail porridge, or maybe rice with pig crap on the side."

She was just kidding; in the army of the West, it was a running joke among the soldiers, insulting the food, no matter how good it was. Naako-san's food was actually pretty good. Kagome headed out to the dining area after brushing her hair and applying her dull-ifying make up. She pouted. Her ego was taking a serious hit, allowing all these strangers to see her without her full potential. Sure, she was a kickass warrior, but at the end of the day, she was still a girl. And girls did _not_ like looking less that they could.

"Ohayo, Kaname-san," called Naako, bowing from the doorway of the kitchen, where she was supervising a new maid. "Would you like some breakfast?"

"Hai, Naako-san," Kagome replied, returning the bow. "But then I must hurry and keep looking for a job." She sat down at her usual table. "I hate to keep imposing on you."

"It's no problem," assured the older woman. "Always glad to help a fellow woman in need." She herself had been a war refugee, but had married the innkeeper. Now she managed the cooking, cleaning, and booking aspects of the inn, with her husband managing the money and harder physical labor, like repairs.

"So what's on the menu? Forgive me for my forwardness, but I am starving, and it's best to beef up before a long day of trudging around."

Naako-san smiled. "Miso soup and rice with a side of pickled radishes. Nothing flashy, plain and sensible. But I do say, those pickled radishes are delicious."

"Anything from your kitchen generally is," said Kagome, looking down at the tray of steaming food that a maid set down before her. She muttered a quick prayer of thanks.

"Well, I'll leave you to enjoy your meal, Kaname-san. Will you be back for lunch?"

"Ah, probably will skip it," admitted Kagome. "I'll have dinner on the streets. I'm planning to cover every occupation in this city. At least one of them must be willing to take me on!"

Naako-san bowed. "I have no doubt you will find a job soon." She turned and walked back into the kitchen. "Let me know if there is anything you need, alright?"

"Hai, arigato." Kagome dug in. The soup was just the right amount of hot, the rice was fluffy, and the pickled radishes…well, they were amazing. They were nothing compared to the luxurious foods she usually ate as the General, but in the end, it all broke down to the same thing; nourishment.

When she finished the meal, she left the inn, hating that she was armed only with a handful of knives hidden in various parts of her person. She wanted to take her katana with her, but she knew that they would be way too conspicuous. Human women did not typically go around with two deadly swords strapped to their backs. Besides, everyone knew that the General used twin katana. It would be a dead giveaway with anyone who connected the pieces together; she was a woman, she had black hair, she was small, she had blue eyes, she wielded katana; _eureka_, she must be the General! Where's the nearest information station?

In defense of her knives, they were quite useful; they could be thrown or used in hand-to-hand combat. But her katana were her main forte, and she felt strangely naked without them in their crossed 'x' formation on her back. Since she had chosen them as her weapon, she had been trained to keep them close at hand at all times. Because she only took them off to sleep and bathe and change clothes, their reassuring weight had become the norm, and the motion of reaching over her back to draw the lethal blades second nature.

"Here I am." She scrutinized the building in front of her critically. It looked classier than _The Green Jackal_, but then again that wouldn't be too hard. "And in I go."

-oOo-

"No sightings of the General?"

"No. If she's here, she's keeping a low profile." Miroku adjusted the beads wrapped around his wrist.

Sango rubbed her temple with her fingertips. "That's just it," she snapped, pacing around the room. "What if we're wrong? What if she's not here yet? What if she got held up somehow, or for some reason turned back West?"

"She wouldn't do that," Miroku said soothingly. "She strikes me as the loyal type. She'd never abandon her brother."

"Maybe not on purpose. What if—"

"Chill!" yelled Inuyasha. "Stop whining, and would you _stop_ that pacing? It's driving me nuts!"

Sango glared at the hanyou. "I can't stop pacing," she said through gritted teeth. "This is how my stress expresses itself."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Well, find some other way to express it. Stick your head in a bucket of water, chat up some of the guards, whatever. Just don't pace. I hate it when people do that."

The taijiya opened her mouth to say some other scathing thing, but Miroku interrupted, playing the role of peacemaker.

"Ne, Sango, it seems this mission is taking more out of us than we expected. What say we unwind with a drink over at a bar?"

"I will not drink," she hissed. "It will muddy my senses and I need them on high alert."

"No alcohol then," the monk compromised. "A nice coffee? Caffeine would do wonders for trying to stay awake. Or you could have a berry water, or tea, or—"

"Go on," Inuyasha said, waving a clawed hand. "Go to that bar of yours and get drunk or whatever. Take the afternoon off, heck, even the evening if you want. The General hasn't been active for the past couple days, I think we can spare one night."

Sango frowned. "Just what kind of bar is it, Miroku? Not a shady one?"

"Of course not, dear Sango! It's one of the best reputed bars in the entire city."

"What's it called?"

The monk shrugged and smiled. "The Red Pride."

* * *

**Cliffy! :D Please review before you go; you would make my day! :)**


	18. Falling

**My very last story update for this year is General! The rest of my posts will be oneshots. ;) Also, this is such a long chapter and I wrote the first part like, months ago. **

* * *

**CH 18**

"_Hey, Takahiro!" _

_He looked up from the sashes he held in his lap. "Isamu." His tone was even. _

"_Look at this, big brother!" The older boy proudly showed off a new pair of sandals. "I managed to swipe them from the vendor's stall!"_

"_I'm telling you, don't call me big brother," said Takahiro darkly. "I hold no similar feelings toward you, and it was also inappropriate, as you are older than I." While Isamu pouted and complained like usual, Takahiro gazed moodily at the strips of red and white on his knees. He should have the blue sash also. No, he should have the girl who gave them to him. His lips curled back in a feral snarl. Those mangy curs had taken her from him. They had burned her, they had savaged her. And they would pay. His vision filled with a red haze, and he looked up, seeing only one of the bandits who had destroyed his village. _

_**Kill…**_

_He leapt to his feet, fire burning in his veins, and brought the boy to the ground. He wrapped his hands tightly around the warm, pulsing throat, beautifully aware of the life he held between his fingers. Yes…_

_**Kill…**_

"_Big brother!" _

_The gasping cry pierced through Takahiro's consciousness, and slowly the red haze faded away, to be replaced by Isamu's frightened face. Blinking, Takahiro stood up, and Isamu staggered to his feet, white as the moon. For a moment the two boys stood, panting, neither saying a word. Then, Isamu spoke._

"_You have a terrible bloodlust inside you, big brother." He sounded eerily calm for someone who had been moments from death. His dark eyes glittered like a snake's._

_Takahiro looked away. _

_Six years. Six years had passed since he had come into this town, half dead. Six years since he had joined Isamu in the dark alleys, living the life of a street rat. They stole, they begged, they __**survived**__. He was now fourteen years old. But he had not forgotten Sumireko. No, he had not forgotten his village, or the bandits, or his burning hatred and consuming need for revenge. _

_For six years he had trained his body, pushing this fragile vessel of his soul past its limits. He had pitted himself against the town boys, eventually walking away the victor, although he was always hunted down and beaten by the men later. He welcomed the pain. It woke him up, and when he was awake, he was strong. For now, he was taking the beatings. But soon, he would turn the tables. Very, very soon. Perhaps sooner than he originally had thought._

"_Isamu," he said slowly, and the older boy snapped to attention, eyes shining._

"_Yes, big brother?"_

_Takahiro chose his next words carefully. "Do you want to be my brother?"_

_Isamu nodded with an eager grin. "Yes!"_

"_And you're willing to do anything?" He didn't want to do this alone. _

"_Anything!"_

_Takahiro's teal eyes burned with madness, Isamu realized with a shiver. But not a shiver of fear, nor disgust. Far from it. He was __**proud**_ _of this fierce war god who had come to him, broken and battered, in the night, six years ago. He was __**proud**_ _of the role he himself had played in grooming the boy to what he was now. Oh, Isamu knew he could come off as vapid and airheaded. But the truth was, Isamu was sly. Very sly. And he also shared this killing madness; the madness that had bonded the two of them together._

_That night, the town burned, and the air rang with the screams of the dying. The streets were empty; the doors were locked from the outside, and behind them, bodies were devoured by ravenous flames. And in the nearby forest, two dark figures rested on a tree branch, exhilarated and happy. _

"_That was amazing, big brother!" cried Isamu, the moon shining in his wide, dark, effeminate eyes. "The screams, like trapped rats, as we burned them alive! The thrill-oh, the thrill, big brother! Finally they have had what was coming to them! Let's do this again soon, big brother Takahiro!" _

_Smirking, Takahiro held up a hand, this time not reprimanding Isamu for his title. Effectively silenced, the eager boy waited for him to speak. "Isamu, I've just had a great idea."_

"_Of course, big brother!"_

"_After tonight, I think we've become new people, don't you think?"_

"_Yes! I can't describe how I feel! So… alive! Like my blood is on fire!" Isamu giggled as he watched the town burn in the distance. "Bad pun?"_

_Takahiro chuckled. "Very. But fitting." Isamu's eyes lit up at the praise. "But really. I'm thinking that as new people, we need new names."_

_Isamu agreed to the idea enthusiastically. "I never liked my name, anyways!"_

_Takahiro snapped a large twig off the tree in which they rested. He held it up against the moon, then crushed it easily in his fist. Powder trickled out of his palm. _

"_I will be Bankotsu," he declared, teal eyes shining. I am strong. And I will be the strongest being alive." _

_Isamu laughed delightedly. "Yes! And I will be Jakotsu, cunning and sly! We will be perfect together, big brother!" _

_The newly named Bankotsu and Jakotsu laughed together late into that night, arm in arm under the moon… as the fire finally flickered out in the town, and the stench of burnt corpses filled the air._

_._

_._

_._

_-oOo-_

_._

_._

_._

Kagome let out a slow breath. She would not lose her temper in public. No matter how slowly the mission was going. Still, if she had been a youkai, her mug of cherry brandy would have cracked to splinters from her tight grip. She knew that if she channeled just a little bit of reiki into her palms, it would explode. And this was all because of him. The stupid man she had decided to hire.

The stupid man was supposed to be here.

The stupid man was not here.

Kagome was going to blow.

Had coyote boy been wrong? Had he been feeding her false information? Maybe the stupid man didn't frequent _The Red Pride. _But she dismissed that theory. She had paid him, and there was no motivation for him to lie either. If the job went well, the man would be a good deal richer than previously, and a client with money to spend was good money for anyone.

But it was late afternoon, and most working men got off work around sunset, so maybe there wasn't anything to worry about. She stifled a sigh and the urge to slump over the table. It would only attract attention and invite questions. Bored, her eyes wandered over the exterior of her cup, taking in every crack and groove of the old wood, of which there were many.

Just when she was about to leave and go look for another accomplice, the door swung open. She looked at it discreetly, vowing to herself that if it was not him, she would leave. Her eyes, which bore a carefully bored look, quickly opened wide along with her mouth as she took in the visitors.

_Oh, fuck no… Kamis, if you exist, please tell me this isn't happening… _But it was.

Shiny dark ponytail, confident walk, and body-hugging slayer uniform, pink eyeliner, clear brown eyes… it was Sango of the Taijiya Clan. And it got worse; a dark-haired young man followed her in, his keen violet eyes searching the space as his hand clutched his golden staff.

_No, no, no… _Kagome's heart was about to explode out of her chest. Those two were about the only people in this whole damned city who had seen her up close and lived to tell about it. If they recognized her, she was done for.

As in dead.

Straightening her back and turning herself discreetly so she was facing away from the unwelcome newcomers, she controlled her breathing. _Slowly, Kagome. Calmly. _Gradually, her heartbeat slowed down, and as she opened her eyes and stared at the cup held tightly in her grasp, she realized her hands were trembling. She forced it to stop with great effort.

_I have to get out of here. Forget the stupid guy; he's not worth it. I can find another just as easily as I found him. The problem is, even if they just recognize me for the slightest instant, they'll sound the alarm. Granted, they won't have been prepared for something like this. They couldn't have known I was coming. But even if I might slip away in the confusion of an alarm, I definitely should __**not**_ _take the chance. I'll put some good distance between myself and those two and scout myself out another man. If I see them again, I can go straight back to Naako-san's. _

Her back straightened even more. _Alright. When they're distracted by ordering their drinks, I'll get up, nice and quiet, and skedaddle. No need to panic, Kagome. Just really, really bad luck. _

She could hear footsteps and low murmuring. The slayer and monk were drawing closer to her. Again she had chosen a seat next to the serving counter; this bar had a similar layout to _The Green Jackal_ and the seat she had picked had the best viewpoint. Now, though, she was regretting her decision. As they drew closer, she had to adjust herself again so they wouldn't see her face or profile. She pretended to take a sip of her cherry brandy as she waited for them to start ordering.

_My God, what's taking them so long? It doesn't take that long to just pick a drink, you know. You don't have to debate every single dash of syrup. _

But they started ordering, and Kagome relaxed. Time to leave. She stood up quietly, inconspicuously, and was turning around to walk away from the table when she ran straight into a customer. He was carrying a half-full cup of brandy to the serving bar-probably wanting another drop or so of syrup- which was very unfortunate for Kagome, as when their bodies collided, he dumped the alcohol all over the front of her yukata.

_Oh, of all the goddamn fucking things to happen…! _She immediately backed away, hoping like hell that Miroku and Sango wouldn't turn around. "Sorry, sorry," she muttered, making her voice a bit high-pitched (or maybe it was the nerves), making a beeline for the door- -but a large meaty hand grabbed her collar.

"Where you going, girl?" growled a deep, bear-like voice. "I believe you owe me a drink."

"No way," snapped Kagome, not turning around. "Now let go!" She tried to wrench out of the man's hold, but he must have been hanyou or something, because his grip was like iron. If she pulled any harder, she would rip her yukata, plus she'd probably show too much strength for the weak persona she was playing here.

The customers were starting to stare, and Kagome's face began to burn. "I'm sorry! But I don't have any money!" Instantly, she regretted saying that.

"Now, now, good man," said the last person she wanted to hear, walking up to them and placing his hand over the man's. "I will personally pick up your tab. No need to manhandle a fine lady."

_Aw, hell no… the Kamis hate me. _

The man reluctantly loosened his grip, but just a little; she still couldn't jerk free. "Five coppers."

"Five coppers? But good man, surely your drink couldn't have cost more than two!" protested Miroku.

The two men began to argue, and Kagome was stuck right up there with them, her face tomato red as she tried to figure out how to get out of this. And then it got worse.

"You know what? Miroku, don't even bother paying the guy. What a dirtbag," sneered Sango, striding over."Let go of that poor girl right now, or I swear I will break every bone in your damn hand. I might just do it anyways; I'd be doing all the girls in this city a favor."

Kagome still didn't dare to turn around, but she started to have hope. Maybe she could play the part of a terrified victim and run off as soon as the scumbag let her go. No need for either of her saviors to see her face. As the man's hand on her collar finally let go, she tensed her legs, ready to act out her plan, but yet another hand touched her, on the shoulder this time, and gently too.

"Are you alright?" asked Sango sympathetically. "I bet that scared you. Tell you what, let's get out of here, and the three of us can go find a better place to get a drink. On me."

Kagome shook her head jerkily, not daring to speak. She tried to walk away, but the slayer was too fast. She spun Kagome around to look her full in the face.

"I mean it. Did he hur-" Sango broke off. Her eyes widened, and Kagome read recognition and shock in those brown irises.

_Fuck!_

Dropping the guise of a helpless girl, Kagome wrenched out of the taijiya's hold, leaving a tattered swatch of dull fabric in her tightly clenched fist. Desperately hoping for a miracle, she forced out, "Thank you for helping me, but I have to go, " remembering to change her voice, of course. She ran out of the bar, acutely aware of every eye on her. As the door banged closed behind her, she heard with a sinking heart, the cry of the taijiya.

"It was her! It was the General!"

_Shit! _She swiftly contemplated sealing the door shut with reiki, to keep them in longer, but she dismissed the notion almost as quickly as it had occurred. She would need as much of her reiki as possible for a confrontation, which seemed increasingly likely. She could hear pursuit behind her, as the slayer and monk forced their way through the door.. The pedestrians on the streets were gaping at her, standing stiff and still in their shock. She tried to push through them, but it was almost like they were resisting.

She whipped around as a mournful, braying call almost blasted her eardrums. _What now? _Sango was standing in the doorway of _The Red Pride, _glaring at her. A large, tapered shell rested between her pursed lips. As the two females locked eyes, Kagome heard identical calls all over the city, answering the slayer. Great. Now the city militia, if these inferior humans had one, would be on high alert. She turned back around to try pushing past the people again, but they had all but disappeared; as she watched, doors were closed and windows were shuttered. Soon, the streets were empty. The only people left were Kagome, Sango, and Miroku. All right. Time to negotiate.

"Look," called Kagome. "I'm not here in your city to cause trouble. Let me leave in peace, and no one has to get hurt."

"We know why you're here," replied Sango, sliding her boomerang off her shoulder and getting into a battle stance. "And I'm afraid you'll not be leaving."

Kagome didn't know what to do. Her mind was still processing what Sango had said. They knew she was coming? "How?" she forced out. "How did you know?"

Miroku's eyes glinted. "What do you think?"

She swallowed hard. Only the highest-ranked people in the West knew that she was here. But out of all of them, she was certain they could not be spies. Mentally shaking her head, she decided she would figure this out later. Now she had to focus on getting out of here. "If you know why I'm here, you know I'm not here to cause to trouble. Just let me go now with that which I sought here. We'll go peacefully."

Miroku shook his head. "As General, Higurashi-san, you must know the advantages of taking such a highly esteemed officer prisoner. Surely you cannot expect us to let you go without a fight?"

Kagome narrowed her eyes, not bothering to grace the man with an answer. They were trying to distract her while reinforcements came. Running was the first thing she should have done, the moment she heard the alarm. She shouldn't have wasted her precious time with negotiations. So she ran, turning sharply on her heel.

She ran through the empty streets, heading straight to the nearest gate. If they'd known she was coming, then they would have drilled on what to do when she showed up. Stealth wasn't the best option right now. First she had to get out of this city at all costs.

"_Wind Tunnel!"_

She gasped and looked back. The monk stood panting behind her, his hand outstretched. The air was beginning to stretch and warp as he called upon his mysterious power. Her body was getting pulled back with a relentless, sucking force. She realized that she wouldn't be making any headway like this. "Screw this!" she shouted, and turned back. Bending her knees slightly, she focused her reiki into the bottoms of her feet. With a powerful flex of her legs, she was hurtling through the man's tunnel, her speed exponentially increased by the tunnel's pull. At the last minute, he closed his tunnel, and she slammed into him, kicking him in the face. His head snapped back, and he fell limp. The slayer cried out and was instantly on top of her, but she fought free.

Kagome was halfway down the street when the cobblestones under her feet exploded. With a shout, she leapt to the side, and a freakishly elongated blade retracted slowly, slithering back into the form of a single sword.

"Up here, General!"

She looked up, and up on the housetops was perched the silhouette of a woman.

_My god, how many of these females are there? _

The figure leapt down and landed on the street in front of her, and Kagome squinted as she realized it wasn't a woman. It was a man wearing makeup, dressed in feminine clothes. Well, she wasn't going to judge. There were plenty of demons like that, too, and they were some of the best fighters she knew.

She glanced behind her and saw Sango standing some distance back, hand on her hip. Okay, so this guy- -er, warrior, was probably a very good fighter. Kagome was getting the feeling she wasn't going to make it out of here. Where were all these new allies popping up from anyways?

"Have you forgotten about me, General?" The man sounded _pouty._

"Of course not," she said dryly, turning back to the warrior. Channeling her reiki into her hand, she pushed it out towards the warrior in a wave, running forward. To her relief, the warrior couldn't evade the reiki, and was repelled back. _Yeah!_ Finally something was going her way. But then things went down very quickly. As soon as the warrior regained his footing, he sent his strange sword snaking out towards her. Kagome chose this moment to curse herself for not having her swords. Trying to conserve her reiki, she dodged the snake-sword, but to her disgust, it flicked around her like an actual serpent, wrapping around her ankle despite her best efforts to avoid it.

"Gotcha!" cried the warrior delightedly, his painted lips stretched in a grin. "Wow, you really don't live up to expectations, huh, General?"

Kagome narrowed her eyes, not bothering with answer. The closer this man got, the more she felt an _off_ aura from him. This guy was one hundred percent human, no doubt about that, but… her reiki still tingled, itching to rush forward and purify him.

He was still prattling when she reached out, hand glowing with reiki. "My name is _Jakotsu_. Remember it to your grave, woman. Shame on you, holding your title with such pride when you fell so easily to me. Big brother Bankotsu would have disposed of you in a heartbeat!"

"Shut up, you vile being!" she finally shouted. "I can feel your evil, and while I do not know its source, it disgusts me!" Gathering her reserves of energy, she called, "_Ketsumatsu no shinseina-te!" _Her sacred hand of judgement erupted from the ground and wrapped tightly around Jakotsu. At the same time, a tendril of reiki curled around her ankle, gently freeing it from the snake-sword.

Kagome ran past him, holding up a barrier to ward off his snake-sword as she skirted past him. Because of the firm hold of her reiki, he couldn't use it to very much effectiveness, but it still crashed against her barrier again and again. Twitching her wrist, she sent the vile man flying over the rooftops. She didn't care if he lived or died. His aura, evil and twisted like none other she had ever felt, disgusted her.

Now that she had disposed of Jakotsu, she expected Sango to give chase again, but she heard no rapid footsteps behind her. That probably didn't mean anything good for her- -there was almost certainly another obstacle.

To her surprise, she encountered no one as she ran through the city, drawing nearer to the gates. Was it possible they were going to let her go that easily? It didn't seem plausible, but it seemed to be the only answer.

Determined to escape, Kagome kept running, although her pace slowed down faster than normal. She passed through several streets unattacked. Then suddenly, she tripped over thin air. She willed her arms to shoot forward and break her fall, but they wouldn't obey her, and she landed hard on her front. Annoyed by her own incompetence, she tried to get up, but even as her mind screamed at her body to move, her muscles wouldn't obey.

_What… What's going on? _She tried to open her mouth, but even that was beyond her abilities. She gulped in air, trying to restore her limbs to life, but it only made them heavier. Then she got it. The air was filled with poison. This was why Sango had not pursued her, this was why Jakotsu had not hunted her down. As she ran, someone had been hurrying ahead of her, drugging the very air she breathed. Well, fuck. She immediately held her breath.

Kagome summoned her reiki and tried to run it through her body to purify herself, but nothing happened, to her dismay. It was probably a drug her system didn't recognize as a threat- -a hyped up painkiller or something.

Now, there were footsteps. Just one person, it sounded like. With a tremendous effort, she moved her eyes back. Ah. It was Sango, wearing a metal mask over the bottom half of her face. She was still at the other end of the street, though.

Making up her mind, Kagome infused her entire body with reiki. By controlling her reiki like a puppetmaster, she was able to get up from the ground. Heh. Sango sure looked surprised. It would look like she was managing to move under the effects of the drug, after all. Kagome was tempted to taunt her, but she wasn't sure she could manipulate her tongue with her reiki with enough finesse to form words. She settled for a middle finger. Her mind was getting foggier by the moment, though, and she knew she had to find the source of the drug, fast.

Concentrating hard, Kagome levitated herself up high over the street and moved herself gingerly until she was level with the roofs. Then she saw her target, crouched at the edge of the roof on her right. It was a tiny little figure, with a large barrel strapped to his back. He had another barrel opened next to him. A little kid? Well, kid or not, it was in her way. And upon further examination, Kagome realized he had the same sick, twisted aura as Jakotsu's. That sealed it. A volley of reiki burst from her palm, aimed right at the little figure. At the last minute, he looked up and evaded her attack, leaping deftly to the side.

Her target locked eyes with her then, and she was disgusted to see a ghastly, ancient face peering up at her from behind a white veil. _Inuyasha has no standards when it comes to making friends, apparently. _

"Interesting," he croaked, his eyes creasing evilly. "You are still function under my drug. Well, I am Mukotsu, the Poisons Master, and I will secure your capture, General!"

_Sickening._

Feeling absolutely no regret, Kagome slammed her reiki into a neighboring building that conveniently was right next to Mukotsu's roof, sending the bricks tumbling down on the creature. She hoped he died. Dammit, she had to tell Lord Sesshomaru about all these new allies of Inuyasha's. They could tilt the odds in a battle, and that was bad.

Unfortunately, she expended too much force on that effort, especially after having to manipulate herself like a puppet, and she realized she was running low on energy. She had just enough to lower herself gently onto another roof.

She lay there for a moment, staring blankly at the sky. She didn't think she had enough energy to take out any more enemies.

Speaking of the devil, the taijiya clambered onto her roof, hauling her boomerang with her. Kagome didn't even question how she had done it. Panting, the slayer moved to stand threateningly over her.

Kagome looked resignedly up at her. _I'm all in_, she conveyed with her eyes. Looking as if she couldn't believe it, Sango lowered her boomerang.

"I suppose you did spend a lot of energy, and you don't have your weapons with you." Reaching to her sash, she pulled off a coiled length of chain. "Back there, you actually were affected by Mukotsu's gas and you couldn't move, could you? You were manipulating yourself with your reiki to make it look as if you could. But that took a lot of energy, didn't it?" She reached out to snap the first shackle around Kagome's wrist, and that was when she struck.

Utilizing her low reserves of energy as efficiently as possible, Kagome maneuvered a knife she had concealed on her person out of its sheath and into her hand. Holding Sango in place with tendrils of energy, she plunged the knife deep into her stomach.

The slayer cried out and tried to move away, but she couldn't move. Beneath her, Kagome gasped as she drove out the toxins into her body into another living being through the blade, and in exchange took her energy. She had never done it before, never even thought of it. But it seemed like second nature as she tapped into another's vast potential energy reserves. For an instant she worried that she was becoming a dark miko, then she dismissed it.

Her muscles tingled painfully as she slowly sat up. Still holding the knife deep in Sango's abdomen, Kagome smiled apologetically at the slayer as she continued to purge her own system while stealing Sango's energy. "I'm sure you understand." Revitalized, she sprang to her feet and tossed the immobilized taijiya a saucy salute. "Till next we meet."

Ignoring the weak protests of the fallen slayer. Kagome ran across the roof, intending to keep the higher ground and stay at this level so she could keep an eye on her surroundings better. Using the tiniest bit of reiki to propel her legs, she easily jumped the gap between roofs as she made fast progress towards the nearest gate facing West.

Her eyes narrowed as she saw that the portcullis had been lowered, and guards sporting red sashes were swarming along the walls, both on top of and at the bottom. A general cry rose up as they obviously spotted her. A curse burst past her pursed lips. So many… Well, it didn't matter. As a squadron of hanyou leapt from the gates onto the roofs, she smirked. _Inuyasha, you can do better than that. _She raced to meet them, and before they knew it, she had blazed straight through them, leaving them collapsed on the eaves with their bodies marked with a single, clean nick. Armed with a sword in each hand, refreshed from stealing almost all their energy in that instantaneous moment when her knife had made contact with their flesh, Kagome reached out with reiki and _swiped_ a whole row of Eastern soldiers off the top of wall. They toppled several stories to their death, the hanyou ones surviving with broken legs. She didn't care. She catapulted herself into the space they had so graciously vacated for her. Glancing around with a confident smile, Kagome sent the soldiers that rushed to meet her flying back. She didn't know where all this explosive brute force was coming from. She normally only operated with finesse, preferring to spare her energy. But with desperation came desperate measures, and besides, she wasn't remotely tired. How strange; normally she would be winded by the end of this exercise. Oh well, she wasn't going to complain.

"General!"

She spun around, recognizing the brash, cocky voice. "Inuyasha!" she returned, smiling broadly at the red-clad hanyou who glowered furiously at her.

"It isn't enough for you to sneak into my city?" he barked aggressively. "Choices have consequences, General! You were a fool to come here. You will never leave!"

"Save your bluster for the idiots who believe it!" Kagome extended a hand in his direction, prepared to knock him off the gate, but the hanyou was already barreling forward, using the Tetsusaiga as a shield. The sword he had stolen from its rightful owner, her Lord Sesshomaru. Wouldn't it be a fine prize to take back to the West?

Glowing with a vision of how pleased Sesshomaru-sama would be, Kagome prepared to meet blades with Inuyasha, but a hauntingly familiar voice stopped her.

"Kagome, no!"

She faltered, looking away from Inuyasha. There, on that roof, staring beseechingly at her. A tall human boy who looked just like her, a lot older than she remembered. Wearing a military uniform- -and a red sash around his waist. Her brother.

Her heart jolted. And instantaneously, she understood. She understood how Sango and Miroku had known to look for her. She understood how the city had been so well prepared for her arrival.

Looking away was her deadly mistake. Taking full advantage of her disorientation, Inuyasha charged forward and slashed the Tetsusaiga diagonally down her abdomen, from shoulder to opposite hip. Kagome couldn't even feel the pain, even as she saw her own blood spray the air in her peripheral vision. Her eyes were locked on her brother's. Her _traitor_ brother's.

_Souta_, she thought, and then she was falling.

* * *

**I've been waiting to post this scene for a year, no kidding! I envision scenes from my stories way before they happen, and most times I don't even know how to work the story up to that scenario. I just know that I really, really want to write that happening. Oh well, my wish was fulfilled! **

**Day 10 of 12 Days of Christmas, in which I update one of my SessKag stories or post a oneshot every day until Christmas Day! **

**Previously, we had _Covenant_: in which Kagome and Sesshomaru, royal children from ancient feuding families, are forced to marry and mate for the sake of peace. **

**Tomorrow, we'll have the first oneshot, because I'm out of stories to update. Stick around!**

**Cheers!**

**Philosophy Blue**


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